The Warning That Echoed Across Time
Kael stood in the ruins, his breath uneven. The voices still rang in his mind, their weight pressing down on him like an inescapable tide. He had shattered the chains of the gods, but now, something far worse had stirred.
The sky above the city darkened unnaturally, as if reality itself was struggling to hold together. Lightning crackled without thunder, and the people below felt an eerie sense of foreboding.
Seraphine appeared beside him, her presence barely causing a ripple in the tense air. "You heard them, didn't you?"
Kael nodded. "The forgotten ones. They're coming."
She exhaled, eyes glowing faintly. "Then we don't have much time."
---
The Gathering Storm
Far beyond the mortal realm, in the space between existence and oblivion, an ancient power stirred. The Devourer of Stars—a being that had slumbered beyond the reach of time—had felt Kael's defiance. It had waited, patiently, knowing that the balance of power would one day tip.
And now, that time had come.
A deep, guttural voice rumbled through the void.
"It is time. The last god has awakened. The cycle must be completed."
A ripple spread through the abyss, reaching across dimensions. The final war was about to begin.
---
The Hunt Begins
Kael and Seraphine wasted no time. They had to find the ones who remembered. If the forgotten gods had returned, then there had to be others—warriors, relics of a bygone age, those who had survived the last collapse of divinity.
Their first lead lay in the ruins of Valdris, a city swallowed by time and war. The records spoke of a being known as The Archivist, a keeper of forbidden knowledge. If anyone knew how to stop the coming cataclysm, it would be them.
Seraphine's gaze was unwavering. "Do you think we can stop this?"
Kael smirked, but there was no humor in his eyes. "We don't have a choice."
They vanished into the shadows, their journey just beginning.
---
The Shadowed Path
The ruins of Valdris were older than history itself. The very air was thick with forgotten magic, whispers of past civilizations lingering like ghosts. As Kael and Seraphine stepped into the crumbling city, a sense of wrongness settled over them.
"Something's watching us," Seraphine murmured, her hand on her blade.
Kael felt it too. An intelligence, cold and ancient, slithered through the ruins. They weren't alone.
A figure emerged from the darkness, cloaked in shifting shadows. The Archivist.
"You have come seeking answers," the voice rasped, neither male nor female. "But knowledge has a price. Are you willing to pay it?"
Kael stepped forward. "Name it."
The Archivist's hollow eyes gleamed. "You must relive what was taken from you. You must remember your true nature. Only then will you understand what you have awakened."
A pulse of power shot through Kael's body, and the world around him shattered.
---
A Glimpse Into Eternity
Kael fell through the void, his consciousness unraveling. Memories long buried resurfaced, crashing over him in relentless waves.
He saw himself—not as the man he was now, but as the entity he had once been. The God Beyond Gods. The one who had watched over creation, untouched by time, undefeated in war. He saw the birth of stars, the rise and fall of civilizations, the endless cycle of death and rebirth.
And then, he saw the truth.
The gods had not vanished.
They had been devoured.
Something older, something greater had hunted them, one by one. And now, that same force was coming for him.
Kael gasped as he was thrown back into his body, his entire being trembling from the revelation. He looked at the Archivist, his voice barely a whisper.
"It's not just a war. It's a hunt. And we're the prey."
The Archivist's expression did not change. "Now you understand. The question is—what will you do about it?"
Kael clenched his fists, his divine power simmering beneath the surface.
"We fight."
To Be Continued…