The dawn rose blood-red over the frost.
Snow drifted gently across the field between two armies — one bathed in divine light, the other cloaked in steel and shadow.
The Silver Cross Division stood in perfect formation, their white banners rippling like wings. Opposite them, the soldiers of the North stood silent atop their direwolves, their breath misting in the cold air.
Between the two forces, a single open field waited — the ground where gods and mortals would decide the will of Heaven.
At the center, Arden and Saint Lirian stepped forward, the wind carrying only the whisper of snow.
Lirian's armor shimmered gold and white, her cloak fluttering like a fragment of sunlight. In her hands, Seraph's Edge glowed faintly, its blade pulsing with divine rhythm — as though it had a heartbeat of its own.
Her silver eyes met Arden's calmly. "Duke of the North," she said, her voice clear, unshaken. "I have come to end your rebellion. Surrender, and I will grant your people mercy."
Arden stood bareheaded, snow melting against his black hair. His cloak, deep crimson, fluttered in the same wind that carried her words.
"Mercy?" he replied quietly. "You call slaughter mercy?"
Lirian frowned. "You've defied Heaven, struck down angels, and corrupted a goddess. Your arrogance ends today."
Arden's gaze hardened. "Heaven sent war to my home. I only sent back the bodies."
A spark of fury flared in her eyes. "Then so be it."
Lirian moved first.
A wave of golden flame erupted from her sword, surging forward like a tidal wave. The ground hissed as snow vaporized instantly.
Arden drew Heavenbreaker — his blade singing as Qi surged through his veins. With one sweeping motion, he sliced through the incoming fire. The air trembled. The flames parted.
Then, they collided.
BOOM!
The impact shattered the frozen earth. A shockwave rolled across the battlefield, sending both armies staggering.
Steel met divine light again and again, sparks flying with every strike. Lirian's sword was faster — graceful, precise, filled with holy wrath. But Arden's was heavier, unyielding, forged through the weight of mortal struggle.
Each swing carried intent — to break destiny itself.
"Your power…" she gasped, blocking another strike. "It isn't mortal!"
"Neither is your hypocrisy!"
Arden's Qi exploded outward, golden and crimson intertwining, clashing against her divine aura.
The clouds above split, lightning and flame swirling together — Heaven and Earth screaming in defiance of each other.
From the fortress walls, Celestia watched, her once-radiant eyes now dim yet filled with emotion. Every strike, every flare of divine fire, she felt through her fading link to Heaven.
Her heart — once still and divine — beat painfully in her chest.
"So this… is what fear feels like," she whispered.
Ryn stood beside her, hand gripping her spear. "If you can still feel fear, you're more human than you think."
Celestia's lips trembled. "If he dies… Heaven will erase this world's hope."
She pressed her hands together, summoning what remained of her divine essence. A soft silver glow surrounded her.
Ryn's eyes widened. "Wait — you can't—"
Celestia spread her wings, shimmering faintly. "I won't let Heaven claim another victory."
With a burst of light, she ascended into the storm above the battlefield.
Lirian thrust her sword forward, divine flame spiraling into a vortex. Arden crossed his blade, channeling Qi through his body — his veins glowing faintly gold.
The flames met his defense, but he did not move. His boots dug into the ground.
With a roar, he swung Heavenbreaker upward, the impact splitting the flame vortex apart and shattering Lirian's barrier.
For the first time, her composure cracked.
"Impossible—!"
Arden's eyes blazed like molten suns. "Heaven's light burns the weak. Mortal will shapes the strong!"
He thrust his palm forward.
"Heaven-Defying Fist!"
The Qi shockwave struck Lirian square in the chest. Her armor shattered; her body was hurled backward, crashing into the ground with thunderous force.
The Silver Cross gasped.
Their Saint — the untouchable flame — had fallen to her knees.
Arden approached slowly, sword lowered but eyes still sharp. Lirian tried to rise, gripping her blade, coughing blood.
"Why…? Why do you resist the will of Heaven? What do you gain from defying perfection?"
Arden stopped before her, his voice quiet, heavy.
"Because perfection kills choice. And without choice… there is no life."
Lirian froze.
Those words pierced deeper than any blade. For a brief moment, her divine aura faltered. Memories flickered — of the years she'd spent in Heaven's service, never once questioning the orders she carried out, the villages she'd burned, the faces she'd erased in holy judgment.
Arden's voice softened. "You're not Heaven's puppet, Lirian. You can choose your own path."
Her sword trembled. Tears — glowing, golden tears — fell from her eyes, sizzling against the snow.
"And if I can't?"
He extended a hand toward her. "Then let me show you how."
Before she could take his hand, a beam of light tore through the clouds — pure, radiant, divine.
Celestia's cry echoed from above. "Arden—!"
The light struck the field like a hammer.
Every soldier was thrown back, blinded. The snow melted in a perfect circle, revealing scorched black ground.
From the rift in the heavens descended a figure — colossal, winged, eyes burning with judgment.
The Supreme Voice of Heaven had arrived.
Its voice was neither male nor female, but filled every mind with the weight of eternity.
"Enough, child of rebellion. Your defiance ends here."
Arden raised his sword, squinting against the divine brilliance. "Took you long enough."
Celestia fell beside him, weakened, her glow flickering. "That… that's not just an angel. That's the manifestation of Heaven itself…"
Arden smirked. "Then I'll carve the truth straight from its heart."
The field trembled beneath divine power. Soldiers from both sides fell to their knees as the sky turned to gold.
Only two figures stood — a mortal and a goddess, side by side, facing the embodiment of Heaven's wrath.
And above them, the Third Trumpet began to sound.