Authors Note: Hey everyone, ethereal here, just wanted to say thank you for the support so far. I'm really glad there are some people enjoying the novel so far. Just wanted to give a heads up this is going to be the longest chapter so far, almost 2500 words! Things will start to really kick off and we finally get ready to see our MC start to transition into the world. Don't wanna spoil it too much. But once again, thank you guys for your support. Please make sure to comment any feedback that you guys have. Also if you like the story so far, don't forget to vote!!!
-Ethereal out
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The morning after the truth of his heritage was revealed, Raelus stood alone at the center of the sanctuary.
The sky above was still, the dome of the heavens echoing the breathless calm that had fallen over the Divine Beasts. They formed a ring around the mosaic platform, silent yet expectant.
At his back stood Nyx'Zari and Vaerokh.
And between them, encased in a pillar of tempered magic and memory, hovered the last legacy of the parents who gave their lives to forge him:
Two swords.
Their shape was unfamiliar to this age.
Curved, sleek—gleaming with darkened gold and starlit black, etched in ancient runes that pulsed with sentient light. The twin blades shimmered with barely restrained power, their edges trembling as if yearning for purpose.
One sword whispered heat. The other thrummed like an echo in space.
As Raelus stepped forward, the pillar vanished.
And the blades hovered before him.
Nyx'Zari lowered her voice.
"They were forged from star-core and soulsteel. One born of demon blood and moonlight, the other of dragon flame and celestial iron."
Vaerokh added, "They respond only to you. And will take the shape you need—sword, spear, scythe, bow. All you must do… is will it."
Raelus reached out.
His fingers wrapped around the hilts.
No surge. No resistance. No flare of divine magic.
Only stillness.
And then—acceptance.
The blades shimmered, folding into each other and morphing into a new form—a massive greatsword, jagged and regal, with a glowing core down the middle. He could feel every rune humming through his skin.
"This…" he whispered, "feels like breathing…like they've always been a part of me"
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The passing of time
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A smile sharper than any blade. A heart warmer than dragonfire. And power… that made the sky hesitate.
It was quiet in the Sanctuary of Sixteen.
Not because something was wrong.
But because the beasts—those titanic, divine forces who had walked with gods, bathed in starfire, and broken empires—were watching someone impossible do backflips off a boulder while laughing like a maniac.
"Three-sixty! Stuck the landing! Kinda!" Thud.
"…He's doing this on his own, isn't he?"
Kael'sari muttered, eyes narrowed.
"He's always been like this," Mirelya sighed fondly.
"We trained him to be a god," Korr rumbled.
"And he came out a… golden retriever."
"I heard that!" Raelus shouted mid-air,
grinning ear to ear as he zipped across the courtyard like a comet, his wings fluttering lazily behind him.
The ground cracked slightly where he landed.
He winced.
"Oops. Sorry, Syl!" he called out, rubbing the back of his neck.
From a tree above, Sylvarion's gentle voice echoed.
"That was sacred moss you flattened, little star."
"Was it? It was so soft!"
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He was sixteen now.
Not a child. Not quite a man.
But something entirely other.
Raelus stood barefoot on the sun-warmed stone of the mosaic arena, wearing an open black-and-gold tunic trimmed in silver mana-thread. His tail flicked idly behind him, golden scales shimmering in the sunlight. His hair was tousled—shorter than it used to be, but just wild enough to fit his spirit. Two elegant horns curved from his brow, black fading to gold at the tips.
And his face…
He didn't know it—genuinely didn't—but it was beautiful.
Smooth, warm brown skin with a natural glow. His lips always curved in a grin that made all who saw it relax. His eyes, mismatched and bright, shimmered like treasure under candlelight. One ruby. One amethyst. Both slightly slit, dragon-kissed. He looked like someone sculpted by an artist who didn't know whether they were making a prince, a god, or a troublemaker.
The answer was: yes.
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"I'm not serious. I'm just dangerous."
Raelus scratched his head and glanced at the Divine Beasts around him.
"So like… what are we doing today?" he asked with genuine curiosity. "Big scary final test? A trial by mana? A punch from Zarakul?"
No one answered.
Which made him suspicious.
"Okay, you're all being weird," he pointed out, spinning on his heel. "I know I talk a lot, but I listen, too. You're quiet, and that means something's up."
Altairn tilted his head in amusement from above.
"Tomorrow is your seventeenth, hatchling."
"Right," Raelus nodded. "Coming-of-age. Fire. Drama. My aura's gonna glow or explode or whatever."
"And then you'll leave," Kael'sari said, resting her head on her crossed paws. "Walk into the world. Make your mark."
He blinked.
Then smiled.
"You mean finally leave the nest?"
Raelus danced across the platform, literally twirling once as he spoke.
"I can't wait to meet people! Like actual people! I mean, I love you guys—you're perfect, obviously. But I've never been to a village. Or a bakery. Or a library. Or talked to someone my age who wasn't a talking beetle."
"Hey!" chirped one of Xylara's insect spirits from his shoulder.
"No offense, Glint. You're a great listener."
His joy was genuine. He was a radiant sun of kindness, endlessly expressive, always offering compliments—even to the shadows he trained with.
But the world wasn't ready.
Because Raelus wasn't just sweet.
He was terrifying.
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A Power Hidden Behind Playfulness
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The beasts had stopped sparring with him months ago.
Not because he asked.
But because it had become… pointless.
Sylvarion once summoned a living forest the size of a city for Raelus to fight in.
Raelus asked, "Can I use every element?"
Then flooded it, froze it, split it with lightning, flew through it upside down, burned the canopy, summoned a swarm of wind blades, and made a flower bloom mid-air out of a lightning bolt as a gift for Syl.
His combat ability was no longer measured in strikes or reaction time.
It was measured in how hard the world had to adjust when he moved.
"He's faster than light-bending mana pulses now," Mirelya once whispered. "I saw him disappear and reappear behind his own shadow."
"He took one of my claws to the chest and laughed," Kael'sari muttered. "I broke his ribs and he called it a love tap."
And when he did get serious—which was rare—it was… beautiful.
His swords, now fused with his very essence, responded instantly to thought. Twin blades of shifting form, flashing between scythe, bow, dagger, and broadsword like extensions of muscle. He could summon ice arrows while spinning into a flame strike, then teleport behind his target with wind while sinking the blade through enchanted armor.
Raelus fought like someone in love with motion.
Not because he wanted to kill.
Because he wanted to dance.
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Raelus, Son of Sixteen
He still called them family.
He still hugged Sylvarion every night before bed.
He still napped on Korr's back in his chibi form.
He still gave Zarakul flowers (and Zarakul still didn't know how to react).
He was loved.
Because despite everything, despite the unimaginable strength he now held—
Raelus never stopped being warm.
He helped Kael'sari braid her mane when she got annoyed with wind knots.
He made custom flower crowns for Xylara's queen drones.
He played tag with wind spirits and swam with whisperfish.
He could destroy a fortress…
…And then tuck a sleepy squirrel into a blanket made of moss.
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The Night Before the World Changed
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That night, Raelus stood on the sanctuary's edge, watching stars drift lazily across the sky.
His tail swished behind him. His arms were folded behind his head. His cloak fluttered slightly.
He looked…
Peaceful.
"You nervous?" came Nyx'Zari's deep voice.
"A little," Raelus admitted. "Excited. Curious. Kinda hungry. I think I'm always hungry."
"The world's not ready for you," Kael'sari said behind him.
"I know," he said. "But I'm ready for it."
He looked back at them.
At his family.
His giants.
His first gods.
And smiled.
"I'm gonna make people smile. I'm gonna protect folks. I'm gonna flirt with cute girls and eat too many sweets and become legendary, not because I'm strong… but because I'm me."
He spun once and dropped to the grass with a dramatic sigh.
"But first… maybe just five minutes of chibi nap. Then I'll be terrifying again."
The sanctuary had never felt so still.
Raelus—now curled in his chibi form on a soft patch of enchanted moss—snored gently, a tiny golden horn twitching with each exhale. His tail flicked once, knocking a pebble into Korr's paw.
The great beast didn't even flinch. He just looked down at the curled bundle of pure potential and smiled with his eyes.
"Still sleeps like a rock," he murmured.
"Sometimes on rocks," Durmund grunted, his voice low but amused. "Once watched him nap on a mana spike."
"Said it felt 'tingly,'" Kael'sari added, shaking her head. "This boy…"
Sylvarion chuckled, antlers blooming with soft white blossoms in response to the ambient joy. A few petals drifted through the night air, landing on Raelus's snoozing forehead.
"He could crush kingdoms," the forest beast murmured. "But he's dreaming about honey bread."
"How do you know that?" asked Xylara's spirit drone, hovering gently nearby.
"He mumbled it just now," Sylvarion replied with a sage nod. "'Warm… sticky… extra jam…'"
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Nyx'Zari and Vaerokh stood atop the high perch that overlooked the sanctuary. The moon cast a pale sheen across the obsidian ridge of Vaerokh's wings. Nyx'Zari's serpentine coils lay relaxed, yet vigilant, wrapped around a nearby pillar.
They were both watching him.
Their son.
The child they'd raised from breath to legend.
"He has no idea how terrifying he truly is," Nyx'Zari said softly.
"He doesn't need to know," Vaerokh replied. "He just needs to remain himself."
"You think the world will let him?" she asked.
He didn't answer.
Not because he didn't believe.
But because he didn't know.
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Back below, Raelus stirred.
His chibi form unraveled in a shimmer of light, his body expanding and shifting until his full sixteen-year-old self lay sprawled on the grass, blinking up at the stars with bleary, half-lidded eyes.
"Did I miss anything cool?" he mumbled.
"Only your snoring," Mirelya replied with amusement. "It frightened the birds."
"Again?" he grinned. "Man. Sorry birds."
He sat up, stretching his arms toward the sky, his tunic slipping slightly to reveal toned abs and a flawless chest that sparkled faintly under moonlight—divine bloodlines etched into his very frame.
Xylara's insects buzzed near his shoulder with something like a swoon.
Even Eiravelle, watching from the upper arch, let out a wistful sigh.
Raelus looked around, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"Feels weird," he said. "Like… I know tomorrow's important. But I don't feel like anything's ending."
"It's not," Sylvarion said. "It's beginning."
"So I can still sneak snacks at midnight?"
Kael'sari growled a laugh. "Only if you share."
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Raelus rose to his feet and walked to the center of the sanctuary once more, his steps light but his posture tall. The stone hummed beneath his feet as it always did—resonating with his mana signature like a heartbeat echoed in crystal.
He turned in a slow circle, taking in every part of the place he'd called home his whole life.
The various marks on the walls where he practiced mastering the elements.
The deep gouge where he'd slammed into the arena floor learning to fly.
The moss patch where he used to nap after training.
"This place…" he said quietly, "…has more of me in it than my own body."
Mirelya shifted beside him, her water lapping gently at the edge of the circle.
"You've grown past it."
"That's what worries me," he admitted, glancing up. "I don't wanna grow away from it."
Nyx'Zari slithered forward now, lowering her head until her snout touched his shoulder.
"No matter where you go, Raelus," she said, "you will always carry us. You were not just born here—you were made here. Forged by our love, not just our training."
"Even if you forget the stones," Vaerokh added, "you will never forget what it felt like to bleed on them."
Raelus exhaled, deeply.
The stars reflected in his eyes.
And then he smiled.
A big, dorky, Raelus smile—wide enough to melt walls.
"Okay, enough sad talk. You're gonna make me cry and then I'll look all blotchy on my big hero day."
"You don't get blotchy," Kael'sari muttered.
"You look radiant when you're crying."
"Really?" he blinked. "Huh. Neat."
"Focus, sparkle-boy," Korr grunted. "You're about to step into a world that thinks dragons and demonkin are bedtime stories."
"Well then," Raelus said, cracking his neck and grinning, "guess I'll give them a nightmare or two. The good kind. Y'know. Sparkly nightmares."
Suddenly, a gust of wind swept through the sanctuary—natural, not conjured. It carried on it the scent of pine, of distant fields, of smoke… of people.
Raelus turned toward it instinctively.
His tail flicked once.
The world was calling.
And this time, it wasn't trying to kill him.
Not yet, anyway.
⸻
That night, as the Divine Beasts curled around the sanctuary like a slumbering ring of stars, Raelus climbed the tallest spire and sat alone beneath the moonlight.
His legs dangled over the edge. His fingers toyed with a floating orb of light he shaped from nothing.
"Tomorrow," he whispered to himself, "I'm gonna meet bakers and bandits. Librarians and liars. Girls who might kiss me. Kings who might try to kill me."
He laughed softly.
"Can't wait."
And far below, as he drifted into sleep one final time as a boy—
The mosaic of the sanctuary pulsed once, a heartbeat of mana spreading to the corners of the world.
The wind stirred banners in distant cities.
The oceans hissed.
And somewhere deep beneath the ground, something ancient and angry opened an eye.
End of Chapter 9 "The Day Before the Storm"