The sky did not break all at once.
It peeled.
At first, the crimson fissure above Starveil Garden was nothing more than a trembling scar—thin, pulsing, as though the heavens themselves had been wounded. Light bled from it in uneven breaths, each pulse accompanied by a pressure that weighed on Kael's chest, squeezing the air from his lungs.
Then it widened.
The sound that followed was not thunder, nor was it wind. It was a shriek—raw, layered, and impossibly vast—like countless throats crying out in unison as reality was torn apart.
Kael staggered back, instinctively pulling Lira with him. The grass beneath their feet withered, glowing petals turning black as ash. The crystalline stream shattered into mist, its song replaced by a high-pitched whine that drilled into his skull.
"Kael… I can't breathe," Lira whispered, fingers digging into his sleeve.
He tightened his grip around her wrist. "Stay with me."
Above them, the sky ruptured.
The fissure split open like a gaping wound, and something looked back.
Not a single creature—no, an abyss. A writhing sea of shadows and flame, where colossal silhouettes shifted behind layers of crimson haze. Eyes—too many to count—flickered within the dark, glowing with malice and hunger.
Then they began to fall.
The first demons struck the city's outer wards like meteors. Towers of white stone—structures that had stood unchallenged for centuries—collapsed under the impact, exploding into shards of mana and dust. A shockwave rippled through Aeloria, knocking Kael and Lira off their feet.
Screams followed.
Not the panicked cries of surprise—but the kind born of sudden understanding. The kind that came when hope died.
"Run!" someone shouted nearby.
Kael pushed himself up, heart hammering violently. Smoke billowed from beyond the garden's edge, turning the sky a sickly red-gray. He could hear the city now—bells screaming from every direction, the warning toll deep and frantic.
Lira's eyes were wide, reflecting the burning skyline. "Kael… those aren't—"
A shadow passed overhead.
Kael looked up just in time to see a winged figure dive toward the city center. Its wings were vast and tattered, veins glowing with hellish light. Claws like obsidian spears tore through the air as it descended, releasing a roar that made Kael's blood turn cold.
"Demons," he breathed.
The word tasted wrong. Like a lie made real.
Another explosion rocked the ground. The garden's stone archways crumbled, ancient runes flickering out as if snuffed by an unseen hand. The protective wards of Aeloria—legends said they could withstand any calamity—were shattering like glass.
Kael's mind screamed one thought over and over.
Home.
He grabbed Lira's hand. "We need to get to my house. My family—"
A deafening crack cut him off.
The street beyond the garden collapsed inward, stone and soil folding like paper as a massive creature burst through from below. Its body was a grotesque fusion of muscle and chitin, six limbs ending in hooked blades. Its maw split open to reveal rows of jagged teeth, dripping with molten ichor.
People scattered in every direction.
The demon lunged.
Kael reacted without thinking. He yanked Lira back just as the creature's claws slammed into the ground where she'd been standing, pulverizing stone. The force sent them both tumbling.
Pain exploded through Kael's shoulder as he hit the pavement. He barely noticed.
"Lira!" He scrambled toward her.
She was already on her knees, trembling but unhurt. Their eyes met for a heartbeat—fear, relief, and something else flickering between them.
Then the world tore them apart.
A surge of mana erupted down the street, violent and unstable. Buildings collapsed in a cascading wave, the road splitting as if struck by an invisible blade. Kael felt his hand ripped from Lira's—
"KAEL!"
Her scream cut through the chaos like a blade to his heart.
He reached for her, fingers grasping empty air as the ground between them caved in. Dust and debris swallowed her form, a wall of rubble crashing down with terrifying finality.
"Lira!" He ran forward, ignoring the heat, the falling stone, the demons overhead.
Something slammed into his side.
Kael flew across the street, crashing into the remains of a market stall. Pain blossomed across his ribs, stealing his breath. He forced himself up, vision swimming.
The street where Lira had stood was gone.
In its place was a chasm filled with smoke and fire.
"No… no, no—" His voice broke.
A demon landed at the edge of the crater, towering over him. Its eyes burned with cruel intelligence as it raised a claw.
Kael froze.
Then a blast of blue-white mana struck the demon from the side, tearing through its torso and hurling it into a nearby building.
"MOVE!"
The command snapped Kael back to himself.
He turned to see a city guard captain, blood streaming down her face, rallying a handful of survivors. "Get to the inner district! Now!"
Kael wanted to argue—to search, to scream Lira's name until his throat bled—but another roar shook the street, closer this time.
He ran.
The Draven household was already burning when Kael arrived.
Flames crawled up the stone walls, black smoke pouring from shattered windows. The protective sigils carved into the doorway flickered weakly, barely holding back the heat.
"Mother!" Kael shouted, sprinting toward the entrance. "Father!"
He burst inside.
The smell hit him first—smoke, blood, and something acrid that made his stomach churn. The main hall was in ruins, furniture overturned, scorch marks etched into the walls.
"Kael!"
His mother's voice—sharp with fear, but unmistakably hers.
He followed the sound to the back corridor.
She stood there, shielding his younger brother, Alen, with her body. Her arm was bleeding, torn by jagged claws, but her eyes burned with fierce resolve.
Behind them, the corridor wall had been smashed open.
A demon crawled through the breach.
It was smaller than the others Kael had seen, but faster. Leaner. Its limbs bent at unnatural angles, its face a twisted mask of bone and sinew.
Kael grabbed the nearest thing—a broken chair leg—and charged.
The demon moved faster.
It lunged past him, straight for his brother.
"No!"
His mother stepped forward without hesitation.
The demon's claws pierced her chest.
Time stopped.
Her breath hitched, eyes widening in shock as blood blossomed across her tunic. She gasped once, a sound caught between pain and regret, and then shoved Alen backward with all the strength she had left.
"Run," she whispered.
Kael screamed.
He struck the demon with everything he had, the chair leg splintering uselessly against its hide. The creature turned, annoyed, and backhanded him across the room.
He crashed into the wall, vision going black at the edges.
When he forced his eyes open, the demon was gone—its attention drawn elsewhere by the chaos outside.
His mother lay on the floor.
Kael crawled to her, hands shaking. "Mom… no, please…"
She looked at him, eyes already dimming. Her blood stained his hands, warm and slick.
"Protect… your brother," she murmured. "Be… strong…"
Her gaze drifted past him.
Then it emptied.
Something inside Kael shattered.
A sound tore from his chest—not a scream, but a broken, animal cry. He clutched her, rocking back and forth as the world burned around them.
He had promised.
I'll protect you.
The words echoed in his skull like a curse.
"Kael!"
His father's voice cut through the haze.
Eldrin Draven appeared at the corridor's end, robes torn, eyes blazing with arcane light. Sigils spun around his hands as he unleashed a torrent of spells into the hallway beyond, holding back something Kael couldn't see.
"Take Alen and go!" Eldrin shouted. "Now!"
Kael hesitated, looking between his mother's body and his brother, who stood frozen in terror.
Another impact shook the house. The walls groaned.
Eldrin turned to Kael, and in that instant, his expression softened—just for a moment.
"I'm sorry," he said.
Then he thrust a glowing crystal into Kael's hands.
The Aetheric Relic pulsed with blinding light, heat searing into Kael's palms. Power throbbed within it—ancient, volatile.
"Keep it safe," Eldrin said urgently. "Live well. Find the truth."
A circle of light flared beneath Kael's feet.
"What are you doing?" Kael shouted, panic flooding his voice. "Father, no—!"
Eldrin met his eyes, guilt etched deep into his face.
"Forgive me."
The portal ignited.
As demons flooded the house and the world collapsed into light, Kael's last sight of Aeloria was his father standing alone against the darkness—staff raised, defiant.
Then everything went black.
When Kael opened his eyes, the sky was wrong.
And Aeloria was gone.
The relic burns against Kael's chest, its light seeping into his veins… and somewhere far beyond, something ancient takes notice.