The world itself seemed to whisper as Rai's gaze followed the falling feather. It drifted slowly, burning softly as it landed upon his palm. The warmth wasn't comforting—it was the kind of heat that seared through memory, unearthing what had long been buried.
A faint voice echoed within him. "Remember the promise that birthed eternity."
The wasteland faded. Light enveloped him. When Rai opened his eyes again, he was no longer standing amid ruin, but before an ancient hall made of white stone and gold. Ethereal banners swayed in windless air, and the stars themselves gleamed upon the marble floor. This was not a dream. This was a memory.
He knew this place—the Sanctum of Vows, where all began.
Figures lined the hall—his knights, his generals, Seraphine among them. All kneeled before the being who sat upon the throne of light. It wasn't a man, a woman, or even a god. It was something greater—Aion, the first celestial, embodiment of law and eternity. Its form shimmered, constantly changing between faces, genders, and shapes, like the concept of divinity struggling to define itself.
"Rai Solen," the being spoke, its voice carrying the resonance of universes. "You seek to end the war that has devoured creation. Are you willing to bind yourself beyond death and divinity alike?"
Rai's younger self stepped forward, regal yet weary. "If it means peace, I'll pay any price."
Aion's light pulsed gently. "Then kneel, Vowbound King. You and your chosen shall forge the pact that binds gods and mortals as one."
One by one, the knights placed their hands upon the sigil carved into the marble floor. It glowed with radiant brilliance, forming a circle of gold and crimson. Rai put his hand last, and as he did, he felt something unnatural stir within his chest.
Power… no, something else. A cold weight, like chains coiling around his heart.
Seraphine's voice broke the silence. "Your Majesty… are you certain of this?"
He smiled faintly. "This is the only way to end the bloodshed."
Then, Aion's voice deepened. "Know this—by taking the vow, you surrender your will to the order of the cosmos. You shall be the keepers of the seal, until time itself ends."
The hall darkened. The sigil turned black, and the air grew heavy. Rai's expression shifted. "Wait—what—"
Too late. The chains of light turned into brands of fire, burning through flesh and soul alike. His knights screamed, Seraphine fell to her knees, and Rai himself felt eternity carve its mark upon his essence.
Aion rose from the throne, its many faces smiling in solemn finality. "You sought peace. But peace cannot exist without submission."
Rai collapsed, clutching his chest as the Eclipse Seal was born—an endless circle of divine power that trapped not only the gods but himself within its laws.
Rai gasped as the vision shattered, his knees hitting the ashen ground of the wasteland. Seraphine and Kael rushed toward him, but he waved them off, panting, trembling. The mark on his chest burned with renewed fury.
"Rai!" Seraphine cried, grasping his arm. "What did you see?"
He looked up at her, his eyes distant—haunted. "I remember now… who cursed us."
Kael frowned. "Who?"
Rai's voice was almost a whisper. "Not the gods. Not the traitors. It was the one who granted us the vow itself—Aion, the First Celestial."
The air grew still.
Seraphine froze. "The god of order… betrayed you?"
Rai's gaze hardened. "No. Aion didn't betray us. It used us. We were never meant to seal the gods—we were meant to replace them."
Kael's jaw dropped. "Replace… gods?"
Rai rose slowly, the burning mark on his chest glowing faintly. "Aion bound our souls to the divine cycle. Each of us became a vessel, an anchor for divine fragments. That's why we can't die. That's why our memories twist. It's not immortality—it's imprisonment."
Seraphine took a step back, her expression filled with disbelief. "Then everything we fought for… every vow we made…"
"Was part of its design," Rai said coldly. "We thought we were ending the war. We were creating eternity for it."
He clenched his fist. "But eternity can bleed. And I intend to make it bleed."
The sky trembled as if responding to his rage. The horizon cracked open, and distant bells tolled across the heavens.
Kael looked up, horror dawning in his eyes. "Uh, Rai… I think you might've just got its attention."
Above the shattered clouds, a colossal eye opened—golden and infinite, gazing down upon the Dominion.
Aion had awakened.