The flames of the Ashspire still crackled behind Leon as he stood at its peak, Zeratheon gripped tightly in his hand. The divine blade pulsed, alive with intent—an extension of his will and soul.
Around him, the air shimmered with heat. Molten clouds swirled in reverence above, parting for the God-King reborn.
Vex, Elyra, and Tharos waited at the foot of the spire, their expressions torn between awe and unease.
Leon descended slowly, his aura igniting the air with every step.
"This changes everything," Elyra whispered.
Vex nodded. "It begins everything."
---
The Omen Sky
Their ship cut through dusk-lit skies toward the eastern continent. Below them, vast cities once bustling with life now stood in silence—claimed by nature, or worse.
Zeratheon pulsed once in warning.
Leon narrowed his eyes. "Something's coming."
The clouds above twisted violently, and from the heavens came a cry that shattered glass and thought alike—a piercing shriek that echoed across the world.
"What in the void was that?" Vex muttered, hands flying across the control console.
Tharos's brow furrowed. "The skybeasts have awakened."
Leon turned. "What are they?"
"Remnants of the first world. Titans that once devoured gods during the Age of Fire. Sealed in the clouds before time fractured."
"And now they stir," Elyra added grimly.
Leon's grip tightened on Zeratheon. "Then we slay titans."
---
The Heart of Ashenfall
They landed in the ruins of Ashenfall, an ancient city built atop a floating mesa. Below, endless waterfalls cascaded into misty abyss. Once the capital of flame, it now served as the meeting ground for the scattered divine houses.
But they were not alone.
A delegation awaited Leon's arrival—clad in red, gold, and black. Their leader was an elderly man wrapped in phoenix-feather robes, bearing a staff of living flame.
"God-King Leon," he greeted with a low bow. "I am Pyrrhan, Keeper of the Flame Accord."
Leon nodded. "You called for unity. I'm here to forge it."
Pyrrhan's eyes flickered to Zeratheon. "Then the blade has returned. The prophecy holds."
They were taken to the Emberhall—a chamber of obsidian and fireglass, where flames danced along the walls like living runes.
Dozens of leaders stood in silence as Leon entered.
A warrior from the Southern Clans. A queen from the Floating Realms. A priest of the Old Moon. All turned to him.
Not with doubt.
But expectation.
Leon stepped to the center, voice calm but firm.
"The Void King rises."
He let Zeratheon's tip touch the stone floor. It sang with power.
"We end him here. Together."
---
Bonds and Broken Trusts
Later that night, as the council dispersed to prepare their armies, Leon stood atop the balcony overlooking the abyss.
Astra joined him—silent, watching the sky.
"You didn't tell them everything," she said.
"No," Leon admitted. "They need unity. Not panic."
She turned to him. "But you felt it too, didn't you?"
He met her gaze.
"Something is coming. Stronger than even the Void King's avatars."
Astra nodded slowly. "The Nexus Star. I saw it in my visions while I was gone."
Leon tensed. "What is it?"
"Not a what… a when. The convergence of all timelines. All realities. If the Void King reaches it first…"
She trailed off.
Leon finished the thought.
"…he becomes unchallengeable."
---
The Wings of Ruin
Before dawn, they came.
The sky split open with a roar like ten thousand hurricanes, and from the rift descended wings of void-shadow—massive beasts of nightmare with bodies longer than ships and eyes like dying stars.
Skybeasts.
Dozens of them.
"DEFENSIVE FORMATIONS!" Pyrrhan shouted as flame guardians took to the skies.
Leon, already airborne with Elyra and Vex flanking him, shot forward like a comet, Zeratheon glowing blinding white.
"Take the wings!" Elyra called, lashing out with arcing divine chains.
Vex soared past a beast's throat, firing shock spheres into its gullet.
Leon met the largest one head-on.
It roared—
He answered with lightning and flame.
Zeratheon cut through its hide like paper, and the beast screamed, crashing into a molten ravine below.
But for every beast they struck down, another took its place.
Below, armies clashed. Magic raged. The sky was a war zone.
And still…
They came.
Leon hovered midair, panting.
"We're being overrun."
Tharos's voice echoed through the coms. "Then unleash the core flame. Now."
---
The Core Flame
Leon plunged toward the Emberhall. Flames bent away from him. Magic recoiled.
Inside, the chamber held a single relic—sealed in stasis for millennia.
A golden sunstone orb.
He reached out—
And it responded.
A fiery glyph spiraled up his arm. His body lit from within, power surging like a second heartbeat.
He stepped outside.
Everything went still.
The beasts turned.
The clouds parted.
And Leon ascended.
---
Godform: Ascendant of Flame
His body ignited—not burning, but glowing, pure divine fire coursing through him. Wings of light unfurled from his back, and his eyes burned with the sun's fury.
Zeratheon morphed, extending into a two-handed greatblade made of starfire.
He moved.
The sky became a furnace.
In seconds, he cut down three titans. Burned a rift shut. Saved an entire division of flame-wielders with a single wave of his hand.
The tide shifted.
Vex whooped from across the sky. "Now that's more like it!"
Elyra smiled fiercely. "God-King indeed."
---
Echoes of the Void
But just as hope returned…
The sky froze.
Time shuddered.
A figure stepped through a tear in the air—cloaked in shadow, eyes glowing violet.
Not the Void King.
But something worse.
His herald.
The Shade Lord.
"You shine too brightly, God-King," it hissed. "Let me show you the beauty of darkness."
It raised a hand.
And the stars blinked out.