The storm came without warning.
At first, it was only a whisper — a strange wind from the east that carried no snow, no scent, only silence. The kind of silence that made even the wolves stop howling.
By the time dawn rose, the sky above the Wolf Fang Citadel was no longer silver-blue. It was black — streaked with faint veins of crimson light, like cracks in the firmament.
Arden stood on the northern wall, cloak snapping in the wind. His sharp eyes narrowed as he watched the sky.
"It's too early for a storm," he muttered.
Beside him, Lirian tightened her grip on her bow. "That's not weather," she said, her tone cold. "The air smells of mana… but not the kind that belongs to this world."
Arden's jaw tightened. "Then it's Heaven again."
Within the citadel courtyard, Celestia knelt in the snow, her hands trembling as she traced glowing symbols into the frost. Each rune flared faintly before sputtering out, unable to hold form.
Her heart raced — not from exhaustion, but from dread.
"The balance is breaking…" she whispered. "The Voice's destruction should have restored the Veil. So why—"
"Because something else took its place."
Arden's voice came from behind her. He approached silently, his shadow long under the dim red sky.
Celestia looked up, eyes glimmering. "You feel it too?"
He nodded once. "It's faint… but old. Something born from divine rot."
Her fingers tightened around the runes. "Then the corruption has begun."
Arden crouched beside her, his tone calm, commanding. "Explain."
She took a breath. "When a divine being dies, its essence doesn't vanish. It seeps into reality, searching for balance. The Supreme Voice's essence must have fallen here — but twisted, feeding on hatred and judgment."
"So Heaven's ghost is haunting my land," Arden murmured. "Perfect."
That night, patrols reported strange sightings beyond the northern forest — shapes that moved like shadows, wings that blotted out the moon.
Arden ordered the alarm.
The citadel came alive — horns blaring, torches flaring, armored riders mounting direwolves that growled in unison.
From the battlements, Lirian's keen elven eyes caught the first sign — a feather, drifting slowly through the wind.
It wasn't white.
It was black, and it smoked as it fell, hissing when it touched the snow.
The snow beneath it melted instantly, leaving behind a faint sigil — a circle with three eyes.
Lirian's breath caught. "That's not celestial magic…"
"No," Arden said grimly, drawing his sword. "It's divine corruption."
He turned to his captains. "Sound the charge. Burn the forest line. No hesitation."
The forest erupted before the flames could reach it.
Shapes burst from the treetops — humanoid but warped, their wings twisted, their faces hidden by masks of bone and light.
Their eyes glowed faint red, and every movement carried the weight of broken divinity.
"The Fallen…" Celestia breathed, appearing beside Arden in a flash of light.
He glanced at her. "You know them?"
Her expression hardened. "Once, they were Heaven's Judicators — enforcers of divine law. Now, without the Voice to bind them, they are madness given form."
One of the Fallen landed on the snow with a sound like tearing metal. Its voice was a distorted chorus.
"You have slain the Voice. You have tainted Heaven's song. For that… you will be silenced."
Arden didn't reply. He simply raised Heavenbreaker.
"Try me."
The first clash split the night.
Arden moved like a storm — his blade slicing through divine armor, each strike resonating with Qi strong enough to shatter mountains.
Lirian and the direwolf riders struck from the flanks, arrows exploding in bursts of silver flame.
But for every Fallen they cut down, two more emerged from the dark clouds.
Celestia stood at the center of the courtyard, her hands glowing with light. For the first time since becoming human, she dared to channel what little divine energy she had left.
"Light of mercy, become my strength—Purify!"
A wave of white light swept across the field, burning away the corrupted feathers, forcing the Fallen back.
The effort made her collapse to one knee, panting, but the snow around her sparkled pure again.
Arden appeared beside her instantly, parrying a blade that nearly took her head.
"Don't overdo it," he growled. "You're human now. You bleed."
She met his eyes — fierce, unyielding. "Then I'll bleed for them."
He stared for a heartbeat, then smirked. "Then let's bleed together."
Arden closed his eyes for a moment — and the world seemed to still.
Then his Qi erupted, golden flames swirling around him like a rising sun. Snow turned to mist. The ground cracked beneath his boots.
He leaped — higher than humanly possible — and slammed Heavenbreaker into the ground with both hands.
"Heavenbreaker Art: Golden Sun Burial!"
A dome of golden fire erupted outward, vaporizing everything in a hundred-meter radius.
The remaining Fallen screamed as their forms dissolved, their corrupted light consumed by the burning Qi.
When the fire faded, only silence remained — and black feathers falling like rain.
Lirian approached slowly, bow lowered. "They're gone… for now."
Arden wiped blood from his cheek, scanning the charred snow. "Not gone. Just testing us."
Celestia knelt, picking up one of the still-smoking feathers. Her hand trembled. "This corruption… it's spreading. The balance is unraveling faster than I thought."
He looked at her, his tone low. "Then we prepare. I don't plan on letting Heaven take the North again."
She looked up, meeting his gaze. "If the corruption continues, it won't stop here. The world itself could tear apart."
Arden sheathed his sword, golden light fading around him. "Then we'll hold the world together ourselves."
As dawn broke once more, black clouds still lingered at the horizon. The war against Heaven was not over — it had only changed form.
And within the depths of that storm, a shadowed figure opened its eyes — crimson and divine.
"The Mortal Duke… must fall."