CHAPTER 126The hall pulsed with divine tension.The celestial torches lining the chamber burned a harsh silver, casting tall shadows on the ancient stone. Amaria stood in the center of the chamber, fists clenched behind her back. She was the first to speak.“The Eye has awakened.”Gasps broke out. Luthiel stood so fast his chair scraped back with a screech.“Impossible,” he hissed. “That entity was sealed beneath the Void!”Amaria’s tone was sharp. “And now it has been unsealed. Nihareth completed the first Cultfire, corrupted sacred relics, and awakened him.”Raziel leaned forward, golden hair gleaming. “You’re saying The Eye… sides with Nihareth?”“Willingly,” Amaria said. “He’s already begun answering Nihareth’s calls. We believe he sent hybrid creatures made of corrupted relic blood to attack Elias’s estate.”Murmurs erupted across the chamber.“Then this is war.” Cassiel’s voice was calm, cold. “We cannot delay. The heavens must retaliate.”“Retaliate?” Erelah scoffed. “You wan
CHAPTER 125“What… what is that?” Elias’s voice was hoarse, shaking, his body suddenly buckling forward.Lucian caught him before he hit the ground. “Elias—hey, breathe. What’s happening?”But Elias couldn’t respond.Inside him, Azazel screamed. Not in rage. In fear."NO!" the demon roared. “HE'S AWAKE—STOP HIM—”Thal’rean’s voice cracked through the maelstrom next. “Seal it again—Elias, you must—seal it—it should never awaken—”But Elias clutched his head, golden eyes wide, glowing, flickering like flames trying to stay lit during a storm. “It’s too loud… I can’t—can’t focus—”A ripple of divine energy tore through the atmosphere. It was like reality folded in on itself for a second, and everyone felt it—down to their bones.Kairis, who had been outside checking the perimeter, froze mid-step. Her breath caught. The glyphs over her skin flared violently. She spun and ran.Inside, Dorian and Kai had just reached Elias when Kairis burst in, panting.“It’s The Eye.”Lucian’s head snapped
CHAPTER 124Elias stood in the dark hallway, his footsteps light despite the storm that had just passed outside. The scent of blood and ash still lingered on his skin, but he ignored it. There was something heavier calling to him now—pulling at the edge of his thoughts.He pushed open the wooden door and stepped inside the room. There lay the memory shard. Elias stepped forward, hesitating only once before reaching out."Here we go," he muttered under his breath, fingertips brushing the shard.A pulse.His breath caught. The shard sank into his palm, disappearing into his skin like water into dry earth. The room blurred—and then everything was gone.He was somewhere else. Somewhere old. Ancient.A war hall of light and power. Golden banners hung from high ceilings. Celestial warriors knelt before him. He stood tall, godlike, crowned in radiant flame. But his face was younger, untouched by the weariness of the present.Three figures stood behind him.He turned to them—but their faces
"Did you hear that?" Elias sat upright, heart hammering.A shrill scream pierced the stillness of the night again, followed by a bone-chilling roar. The ward around the estate should have prevented anything from getting close. This wasn't just a scream. It was a breach.Lucian was already up and gripping his sword. "That sounded like it came from the eastern wing.""Something shattered the ward," Dorian muttered, hand already glowing with energy. "I felt it go."Kai groaned, rubbing his eyes. "I swear to all the gods if this is another test, I’m going to kill someone.""It’s not a test," Kairis said tightly. She was already reaching for her twin daggers, her eyes glowing faintly. "Move. Now."The group bolted down the hallway. The floor trembled beneath their feet, and a horrid stench reached them—sulfur, blood, and something older, fouler.They reached the courtyard just as the first creature lunged.It was grotesque—part wolf, part insect, its face twisted, malformed wings beating b
CHAPTER 122“It is ready,” Nihareth said, his voice thick with hunger and power.The ruined cathedral trembled under the weight of something ancient. The stained glass windows had long shattered, but the skeletal arches still reached toward a sky long forgotten—crimson, choked with swirling clouds and hints of void. In the center of the shattered altar, the first Cultfire burned.Not red. Not orange.Black.Black fire, licking the air with tendrils of ink and stars, pulsing with a rhythm not of this world. It gave no heat—only weight. Heavy. Crushing. Divine and wrong at once.Behind him, gods knelt.Not all. But enough.Old gods. Bitter gods. Forgotten gods. Those whose names hadn’t been spoken in eons. Betrayed, cast out, or simply ignored by the Hall of Ascendancy. Nihareth had found them. Promised them power. Worship. Revenge.And they had come.One of them, cloaked in robes of cracked gold, approached with a trembling hand. “As you instructed, my lord… the Horn of Sevrin. Unblemi
CHAPTER 121“You there,” Isadora purred, stepping through the shattered gates of the celestial outpost. “Don’t run. It’ll only make it worse.”The guard—a lower celestial wrapped in silver robes—froze mid-step, his blade trembling in his hands. Behind him, the others scrambled to raise wards, alarms flaring with golden light.“Lady Isadora,” the captain called from the inner wall, eyes wide. “You are trespassing—this is a divine stronghold sanctioned by the Hall of Ascendancy. Leave, or face judgment.”Isadora smiled slowly. Her white dress shimmered with blood-red runes, and her hair, unbound, twisted in the wind like silk caught in a storm.“Judgment?” She stepped forward. “How quaint. I’ve come for the souls. Be a dear and surrender them.”“Never.” The captain raised his blade, its edge glowing with holy power. “You will not pass.”She sighed. “So dramatic.”In the blink of an eye, she vanished—then reappeared behind him, driving her hand into his back. He gasped as her nails, shar