But the truth had a price.
The boy in the cloak returned—this time with an army. He called himself Kael, the Shadowborn, a bastard of the divine wars, twisted by betrayal. And he wasn't alone. Disgraced gods, fallen champions, and beasts long banished from the Arena followed him.
"The gods fear us," Kael declared. "Because we were not born to kneel. Join me, Arius. Together we end their tyranny."
Arius stepped forward, heart pounding.
"I'll never be your weapon," he said.
And war broke out.
The Arena trembled with the clash of forgotten powers. Lysaria fought by Arius's side, wielding twin blades of moonlight. Together, they faced Kael in the shattered center of the Arena, where time itself seemed to fracture.
The sky cracked open above them, revealing constellations never seen before. Divine energy flooded the battleground. Gods could no longer stay spectators.
Each clash with Kael forced Arius to dive deeper into his ancestry. He called forth the flame of Selphira to protect Lysaria. He invoked Erython's vision to predict Kael's moves. He was becoming what they had always feared—a god of his own making.