The Vault trembled.
Seris raised her head, eyes glowing with battle-light. "They found you faster than I expected."
Alan tightened his grip on the Flame of Theryon, the soulblade now humming with primal fire. "Good. Let them come."
Above ground, the skies fractured like shattered glass. A ripple of divine authority crashed down upon the academy ruins.
Then—a being descended.
Not walked. Not flew. Descended.
Ten wings made of crystal. A robe of molten starlight. A face covered in a mask of gold, with no mouth—only light pouring from beneath it.
An Archon.
A direct servant of the Twelve Thrones. A celestial executioner.
Its voice echoed in every soul nearby:"Target confirmed. Alanus Vel'Kaer. Status: Anomaly. Verdict: Erasure."
Seris's eyes widened. "They sent Calikar. You must flee—"
But Alan stepped forward, flames swirling at his feet.
"I've fled enough."
*****
The Archon raised a single hand.
From the sky, thunder spears rained down—each strike carrying enough divine energy to reduce mountains to ash.
Alan raised his blade.
And smiled.
The first spear struck.
BOOM.
Dust engulfed everything.
When the smoke cleared—Alan was still standing.
The ground beneath his feet was molten. His coat burned at the edges. But around him floated six rotating glyphs, burning like miniature suns.
His true power was awakening.
He leapt.
The sky bent.
Clashed midair with Calikar.
Steel met divine flame. Light screamed. Wind vanished.
With every strike, memories surged through Alan—old wars, lost comrades, divine laws he once rewrote. He wasn't just matching the Archon.
He was teaching it fear.
*****
"Impossible!" Calikar's voice cracked, its wings folding inward. "You were erased!"
Alan's voice thundered back:
"You erased a mortal. I was never just that."
He stabbed the soulblade into the Archon's chest. The blade drank light—ate the divine—and Calikar screamed, its body disintegrating into falling stars.
One by one, those stars winked out.
Alan landed, fire curling from his shoulders.
Seris stepped beside him. "You've grown stronger. Faster than even the old legends said you would."
Alan stared at the sky, where Calikar's mask still floated… and then crumbled to dust.
"They know where I am now," he said.
Seris nodded grimly. "They'll send more."
Alan turned away, cloak swirling, eyes blazing like twin storms.
"Good," he whispered."Let them all come."