Wake up now!

Destiny stepped out of the crater feeling better than she had in centuries. The scorched wind swirled around her, dancing over skin that pulsed with divinity. She knelt, fingers sifting through the hot desert sands. She knew them—each grain, each breath of wind, every living soul that walked this realm. And yet… something was wrong.

A chill crept up her spine.

Something cloaked its presence from her. She couldn't see it, couldn't trace it. She closed her eyes, reaching out with her mind's eye—searching the threads of every soul, every breath, every whisper. Nothing.

Whatever it was… it was dark. And soulless.

She turned her gaze toward the void and spoke, her voice laced with power.

"You do not belong here."

"You are not one of mine."

"How did you come to be here?"

A voice echoed back from the darkness, smooth and mocking.

"Well, well, well… look who finally showed up."

Her eyes narrowed. "How are you able to cloak yourself? This is my domain."

"I am your Adam in the garden..."

"More like a snake, demon."

"Ah, clever… You certainly have grown over the millennia."

"Now which demon are you?"

"Ah! Ah! Ah! Not so fast. Why rush our game?"

"I don't play games with snakes," she spat. "I'll shove that apple down your throat and choke you! Leave while you have the chance and I might be merciful."

"Let me think about it…" A pause. "NO!"

The mental link shattered like glass. Destiny staggered for only a second—her fury mounting.

"Which one of my children…" she whispered, barely containing the tremor in her voice, "…would dare bring a demon into this realm?"

It was forbidden. Unthinkable.

"They would need permission," she muttered. "And only one would be foolish… or power-hungry… enough."

Her jaw clenched.

"Torock."

In less than a heartbeat, Destiny appeared before the grand hall. Each of her footsteps cracked the ground with divine fury. Fates jolted awake. Creatures across the Realm stirred in dread.

“Torock!” she thundered, her voice shaking stone and spirit alike.

Torock leapt from his seat. Panic consumed him. He scrambled toward a hidden panel in the wall, a compartment where he kept stolen relics and forbidden runes. But when he opened it—

Empty.

Everything was gone. Every jewel, every contraband item he’d hoarded through the years—vanished.

The room looked ransacked, torn apart by some unknown force. But there was no time to ponder it. He turned to flee—but froze.

Destiny stood at the door.

He barely recognized her.

Gone was the modest robe and tight black ponytail. In her place stood a queen—hair braided and pinned with a golden crown woven from divine metal. Her sun-kissed skin shimmered. A fitted golden gown clung to her sculpted figure and flowed like fire down to her ankles. Streams of energy coiled around her arms like living ribbons.

She wasn’t just the First Spear. She was fury incarnate.

Torock dropped to his knees. “The First Spear! I humble myself before you!” He reached for her feet.

“Stop.” Her voice halted him mid-motion. “You’ll hurt yourself. This form is new. My energy will burn through your skin. You’ve been warned.”

Despite everything, she still loved him. He was one of her original thirteen. One of her children.

“I have never interfered with your choices,” she said, her voice trembling with restrained power. “I only guided… gently. Out of love. I never punished you—not even after you murdered your brother, Baron. But now…”

Her voice cracked.

“Now you’ve put this realm in grave danger.”

She paced in front of him, fire flaring from her crown, eyes glowing white-hot.

“I didn’t want to rule like a tyrant. I believed in free will. But this is not Earth! This is the Realm. MY Realm!”

The stones around her cracked and groaned under her wrath.

“It’s time I right some wrongs.”

She bent low, her face inches from his. “Tell me. Which demon did you make the deal with?”

His lips trembled. “A-Asmodeus. He was the… the go-to demon. He spoke for all seven.”

Destiny stiffened. “Seven?”

“Y-Yes. Marduk Kurios. Baphomet. Mephisto. Satannish. Beelzeboul. Olivier.”

"You made a deal with seven demon lords?" Her voice was pure fire now. “I should destroy you where you kneel.”

“I swear—I’ll never do it again,” Torock begged. “I’m done with conquest. I’ve lost everything! I ruined our civilization. Only a handful of Fates remain in the city—and they hate me. I think… I know the guard is planning to kill me. I deserve it.”

He raised his head. “Search my heart, First Spirit. You’ll see I’m telling the truth. I want to fix this. Please.”

Destiny studied him with searing eyes.

“Then tell me everything. Leave out nothing.”

Torock confessed every vile detail—every deal, every lie, every moment of betrayal. How he tricked Haroon. How he invited the demons into the Realm.

Far across the lands, the tremors subsided. Fates and creatures awoke, shaken.

“Dad,” a young Fate asked, “what caused us all to black out?”

“I don’t know,” he replied, rubbing his temples. “But ReNew sensed something. Something so powerful it made her retreat without a word.”

“She didn’t think it meant harm… but it was terrifying.”

Another voice chimed in. “Heth said the same. Said he never wants to face whatever that was.”

The young girl twirled her fingers through the air, sensing the stillness. “The air… it changed. I can’t explain it. Don’t you feel it?”

He nodded slowly. “I do.”

He hesitated, his thoughts drifting to Destiny. He didn’t want to speak her name aloud. Not yet.

“In the morning,” he said, “we’ll sweep the Realm. We need to check on every Fate. I’ll ask Argun to run a deeper scan.”

“And we’ll meet in the war room after?”

He smiled faintly. “Exactly.”

She grinned. “You know you love a good plan.”

“Go to bed,” he said, ruffling her hair. “We’ll handle this. First light.”