The morning came painted in ash and silver. The once-vibrant forest that surrounded the ruins now stood still, frozen beneath a blanket of mist. Every leaf shimmered faintly, as if soaked in light that did not belong to the sun. Rai pushed through the haze, his steps unsteady, the cold air stinging his lungs. Kael followed behind, his armor cracked, his face pale but defiant.
"Where are we?" Kael asked, his voice hoarse.
Rai didn't answer immediately. His gaze swept the horizon—what had once been Elyndra's Heart, now reborn as a vast crater of obsidian glass. The sky above was torn, streaked with faint lines of gold that pulsed in rhythm with his heartbeat.
"Somewhere… between death and memory," Rai murmured. "The seal fractured. The world remembers me again."
Kael frowned. "Remembers you?"
Before Rai could respond, the sound of chanting rose from the fog. Low, rhythmic, ancient. From the shadows emerged dozens of figures in black and gold robes, their faces hidden behind masks shaped like broken stars. Each carried a symbol—a shard of crystal glowing with faint red light.
Rai froze. He recognized that mark. It was his.
The leader stepped forward—a tall woman with silver hair braided down her back. Her mask was cracked in half, revealing a single glowing eye. When she spoke, her voice was trembling with reverence and fear.
"After a thousand nights… the Fallen Star returns."
Kael drew his blade instantly. "Stay back!"
But Rai raised a hand, stopping him. The woman knelt. Then the others followed, one by one, bowing until their foreheads touched the blackened ground.
"We have waited," she whispered. "We carried your name through flame and faith, through exile and silence. We, the Children of the Hollow Sky, kept your legend alive."
Rai's breath caught. "My legend?"
The woman looked up, her single eye wet with devotion. "You were the one who defied the heavens. The mortal who slew the gods and promised to return when the chains of eternity weakened again."
Kael's expression twisted. "They're worshipping you?"
Rai's voice was barely a whisper. "No… they're worshipping the monster I became."
The woman extended a trembling hand. "Our prophecies said you would awaken when the divine heart beat once more. And now the sky burns again. Tell us, Lord Rai—will you finish what you began?"
Rai took a step back, shaking his head. "No. I came to end it, not to rise again."
The woman's smile faltered, but only for a moment. "Then perhaps your human shell resists. The god within you will remember soon."
The cultists began to hum, the air vibrating with an unnatural resonance. Rai felt it—something pulling inside him. A pulse beneath his ribs, responding to their faith. His own divine echo is waking up.
"Stop," he said, clutching his chest. "You don't understand what you're calling."
But the chanting grew louder. The shards they carried began to glow brighter, melting into golden mist that spiraled toward Rai. Kael tried to strike them, but the mist ignored him—flowing directly into Rai's body, searing through his veins.
"Rai!" Kael shouted.
Rai fell to one knee, his vision fracturing. The symbols of the old world flared before his eyes. Ancient words burned across his skin. He could hear them—thousands of voices praying, pleading, worshipping. Every whisper fed the dormant power within him.
"I am not your god," he gasped. "I am what destroyed them!"
But the power didn't care. It surged upward like fire seeking air. His eyes turned gold for a heartbeat. The ground trembled. Lightning crawled across the sky.
Then—silence.
The cultists fell to the ground, weeping. "He lives. The Fallen Star lives again!"
Kael ran to Rai's side, shaking him. "Rai! Stay with me!"
Rai's breathing steadied, but his voice was low, distant. "They're not wrong, Kael. The divine heart… It's calling to me. The gods aren't dead. They're inside me."
Kael looked around at the kneeling worshippers, the broken sky, the glow beneath Rai's skin. "Then we need to end this. Before you lose yourself again."
Rai met his gaze. "Or before the world bows to another false god."
From a distance, a horn echoed—a deep, resonant sound that shook the ground. The cultists froze, their expressions turning to dread.
"The Inquisition," the woman whispered. "They've found us."
Rai's eyes narrowed. "Inquisition?"
Kael's grip tightened on his sword. "The Church of the Eternal Flame. They hunt divine remnants… and now they're coming for you."
The sound of armored steps filled the air as the mist parted—revealing an army of white-clad knights bearing banners of burning suns. At their head walked a woman with eyes like ice and a blade that shimmered with holy fire.
She looked directly at Rai. "So it's true," she said coldly. "The Fallen Star rises again. Then by decree of the Flame, I, Seraphine Elor, shall end this blasphemy once and for all."
Rai rose slowly, golden energy flickering faintly behind his eyes.
"Then come," he said softly, his hand resting on his sword. "Let's see if heaven still remembers how to burn."