Chapter 146
With a force that brooked no resistance, the entity seeped through the pores of his fingers, hijacking the flow of his spiritual energy, and in an instant, seizing full control over the small angel's body.
A swift and brutal usurpation occurred, in which Equinox's pure light was suddenly shrouded by a terrifying aura of darkness.
Now, behind those same eyes of Equinox, there was no longer the radiant glow of admiration, but instead the glint of wicked satisfaction and the ancient intent of an entity that had just found a vessel.
His once lively body now stood rigid, bound by a foreign influence that had tainted his purity.
This was the starting point of the betrayal—a tragedy born from misplaced admiration, opening the door for darkness to set foot in heaven.
'A power that defiles the sacred, stains clarity, and brings down His grandeur… and then you turned into the dark side of the light that once birthed you.'
Fuaaah!
'Who are you, truly?'
With the deepest, most painful breath, Aldraya dove once more into the ocean of her memories, attempting to grasp the truth behind the fog of a dark past.
She walked slowly, her steps resonating with the pulse of ancient sorrow.
In her contemplation, she admitted a truth so bitter.
She herself had never truly understood what had actually happened to Equinox.
What was the strange material her brother held, and what kind of entity could invade so deeply, turning brilliant light into darkness that dared challenge the Creator?
The power Equinox unleashed after being possessed was something wholly alien and utterly opposed to all heavenly laws.
It was pure antithesis to the grandeur of Quil-Hasa—a dark authority that denied sanctity, purity, and divinity.
It did not merely corrupt, but actively degraded and contaminated the fundamental essence of heaven itself.
With that distorted power, Equinox—no longer himself—launched a devastating assault that infected a quarter of heaven's realm, transforming gardens of light into shadowed landscapes that trembled with annihilating energy.
The tragedy worsened when the changed Equinox approached their four siblings.
One by one, Emhtartako the wise, Ahael the mighty, Anity the enigmatic, and Regord the brave were confronted.
Without mercy, without any pretense that allowed room for resistance, a hypnotic influence emanating from that dark power immediately gripped their consciousness.
The light in the four pairs of eyes dimmed at once, replaced by empty obedience, turning the siblings he loved into pawns subservient to Equinox's distorted will.
'Eight among you rose to resist, yet the struggle led nowhere.
The power they wielded was no longer a heavenly gift, but something foreign and destructive.'
Huuuuh!
'Heaven, which should have been eternal, is now shaken by devastation.
Ninety-six percent of its realm has fallen, and the rest slowly follows.'
In the midst of the chaos consuming the celestial realm, the remaining eight Angels stood like the final fortress bracing against the storm.
Rearomh, Intercessor, Warsh, Anh-Bu-Sisi, Deltusia, Axs-La, and Tapsry united their strength in a silent vow.
Their multicolored lights merged, forming a crown of defense striving to halt the wave of distortion spreading from Equinox and their four corrupted siblings.
But their resistance was like dew attempting to wet a sea of fire.
Their combined strength, which should have been able to repel any threat, proved powerless before the absolute dominance radiating from the five beings turned into tools of a foreign force.
Every attack they launched was effortlessly dismantled, every defensive barrier shattered before it could fully form.
Chaos ran rampant, devouring every sacred corner of heaven.
The ninety-six percent of defiled territory continued to rise, a statistic of despair witnessing the once-glorious realm turning into an inevitable stage of destruction.
Every passing second only worsened the situation.
The percentage of chaos swelled like a dragon's breath growing ever fiercer.
Every inch of fading light was replaced by trembling shadows, every distorted heavenly melody turning into a prolonged lament.
This impossibly dire situation, if left without intervention from a higher power, could only lead to one ending.
The total erasure of all glory that once existed—turning the garden of eternity into a monument of everlasting ruin.
'At last, the moment came.
At the peak of this destruction, at the brink of heaven's collapse, You revealed Yourself for the second time.'
Behind the crystal walls of her pavilion, still standing like an island of devotion amid the sea of chaos, Aldraya remained kneeling.
The rumbling sounds of destruction and the cries of her battling siblings reached her only as muffled murmurs, blurred by the walls of dogma she herself had built.
To a soul fully devoted, loyalty to Quil-Hasa was everything—greater than blood, greater than duty as a sibling, greater even than the instinct to save her own home.
Every fiber of her being screamed to descend and help, yet her hardened conviction locked every joint in place, choosing apathy veiled in misguided devotion.
She believed that if the Creator desired her intervention, the command would come on its own.
And then, the miracle happened.
The space before her suddenly trembled, cleaving open with an indescribable presence.
A silhouette of pure light, formless yet filled with majesty, appeared without warning.
It was Quil-Hasa—present not in His usual grand form, but as divine essence directly touching the soul.
Aldraya was stunned, her entire body trembling.
Instinct forced her to prostrate, to pour out every ounce of praise and love burning in her heart.
But before she could utter a single word, a materialized substance of that very light floated before her.
The substance pulsed with the oldest rhythm of life, emanating limitless yet gentle power.
Aldraya understood instantly.
This was a part of Quil-Hasa's own essence—
a fragment of the Creator, separated and entrusted to her.
The command echoed in her consciousness.
Not through sound, but through knowledge directly embedded within.
She was ordered to forge this divine substance into a sword.
Not an ordinary sword, but a physical manifestation of divine will.
And with His Name, with the highest and undeniable authority, Quil-Hasa commanded the impossible.
Aldraya had to defeat Equinox—now.
The order shattered her walls of dogma, for this time she was not told to obey in silence, but to act.
'Thank you.'
Uuuuhh!
'In this place, His Will takes form.
And at the tip of this weapon, every betrayal must meet its end.'
After the divine presence vanished as swiftly as it arrived, Aldraya slowly rose from her prostration.
A dazzling smile—one long absent—bloomed on her lips, sparked by the spiritual joy of being personally "addressed" by her first love, Quil-Hasa.
That joy flowed through her, becoming the fuel for her new task.
With blazing conviction, her hands reached for the divine substance bestowed by the Creator.
Under the touch of her fingers, the substance resonated with the vibration of her own soul, clashing and dancing, then reshaping itself according to her will.
A blade was formed—radiating a light that matched Aldraya's aura—a weapon not only powerful, but a true extension of her loyalty and essence.
With the sword in her grasp, Aldraya shot toward the heart of the chaos.
Without hesitation, she swung her new weapon.
A wave of pure light swept outward.
Not to strike her siblings, but to cleanse the dark infection staining the heavenly land.
To be continued…