The air around Velmora shifted.
Clouds that once floated now twisted into rigid symbols. Raindrops fell in geometric patterns. The world was reacting—not just to Riku's return, but to who he had become.
Across the continent, from floating islands to hell-scorched deserts, those attuned to the divine felt a shudder in their soul.
Inside the sacred temple of Hieron, seven thrones trembled.
The gods were not meeting by choice.
"The Cyclebreaker lives."
"The Core has awakened."
"We were fools to think he forgot."
The voice came from the War God, Regalus—his skin etched in molten scars, eyes like twin meteors.
The goddess of Chains, Seraphyne, hissed, "We must unmake him. Again."
But the eldest among them, the one draped in rotting eternity—God of Endings—spoke what they all feared.
"This time… he is not bound by our rules."
Meanwhile, far from divine sight, a hidden rebellion stirred.
Inside a forgotten citadel beneath the Mirrorfall Mountains, five cloaked figures gathered around a projection.
A woman with violet eyes and bloodstained gauntlets spoke.
"He's back. Confirmed Origin mark—burning instead of glowing."
Another leaned forward, eyes cold. "Then it's time. We reach him before the gods do."
The youngest among them, a quiet boy holding a cracked sword, murmured, "Will he join us… or break us too?"
Their leader, cloaked in red and black, clenched his fist.
"If Riku remembers who he truly is… he'll be the blade that severs the gods' leash."
Elsewhere…
Riku sat in the ruins of Velmora, surrounded by the quiet hum of post-battle silence.
Valen sat nearby, arms wrapped around her knees. "What you did… it's not something even Reborn should survive."
Riku looked at the spiral mark on his chest. It didn't just shine—it moved, subtly shifting with his emotions.
"I didn't survive," he said. "I changed the rules of what survival means."
Valen looked at him carefully. "Do you… even feel like you anymore?"
Riku met her gaze. "I feel like more. Like I'm remembering what I was always meant to be."
Suddenly, a rift tore open behind them—no spell, no sound.
Out walked a tall woman clad in layered robes, her eyes mirrors of the Core itself.
"Riku. We are not your enemies."
Riku rose, tense. "Who are you?"
She raised her hand. Behind her, four others stepped forward—familiar figures, the same that once appeared in the mirror during his awakening.
"We are the Remnants of Truth. The ones the gods tried to erase after we awakened."
"You are our key."
Riku studied them. Each bore a version of his power, twisted, evolved, specialized.
He could feel it—the same fire, the same curse, the same potential.
But not the same path.
"If you came to ask me to help you rebel against the gods," Riku said, "you're too late."
He turned to the sky, where stars no longer shone naturally, but blinked in fear.
"I'm not rebelling."
"I'm ending their reign."
End of Chapter 14.