Chapter 9
Even after the Tribunal fled, the divine world didn't calm it grew nervous.
Rumors spread like wildfire. Entire pantheons locked themselves in stasis. And far beyond the visible universe, the Deeper Realms stirred.
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Scene: Forbidden Realm "The Hollow Spiral"
It was a place no one dared to name aloud. A land where time doesn't move forward, only inward. Where gods lose their memories trying to breathe.
Here, monstrous silhouettes hovered some shaped like beasts, others like blackened stars. One of them whispered:
> "He's awakened. The mistake of the First Architect… lives."
Another responded, voice layered in echoes:
> "The Tribunal failed. They returned broken. One missing."
They looked toward a massive obsidian throne, where a cloaked figure sat in silence. No name. No title. But everyone in that realm fell silent when he stirred.
> "I will go."
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Scene: The Molten Catacombs Realm of Flame Divinity
A young fire demigod brash and eager spoke to his master:
> "Why fear him?! He's only one man!"
The elder god didn't speak. He merely showed him a vision.
A vision of Zereth Kaine, standing still, eyes half closed.
The sun collapsed behind him.
The demigod wept in silence.
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Meanwhile: The City of Heavens Surface Realm
Zereth Kaine walked the marble roads. The world felt… quiet. He looked up at the sky. He knew something was coming.
And he welcomed it.
> "It's about time one of them stopped hiding."
Then a crackling distortion formed in front of him.
A man emerged. Cloaked in robes darker than shadow. His presence felt… opposite of life. The clouds twisted. Birds fell from the sky.
His voice didn't echo it silenced.
> "Zereth Kaine."
Zereth narrowed his eyes.
> "You came from the Spiral."
The man smiled without joy.
> "I am Vael'Tharon, and I will erase your existence."
The air itself collapsed around them. Buildings within miles turned to dust from the pressure alone. The wind froze. Everyone nearby was teleported away by unseen hands. Even the gods began watching.
> "You'll try," Zereth said coldly.
Their auras clashed once. The entire continent tilted. Oceans shifted.
To be continued...
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