The world was not ready.
When Lena and Lucien descended, the skies didn't darken.
They paused.
Like the earth itself had taken a breath.
Gone was the Celestial Court, gone were the divine thrones — the old world had collapsed. In its place, reality bent into something… unfamiliar.
Mortals hadn't seen the heavens tremble.
But they felt the ripple.
Across cities and villages, temples and towers, people woke with dreams they couldn't explain. Dreams of a woman burning in golden fire. Of a man cloaked in starlight and sorrow. Of a voice whispering from the stars: "They walk again."
And in one corner of the mortal realm, a girl named Aria saw the sky crack open.
Lena landed barefoot on sacred ground — but the earth, sensing her presence, bloomed where she stepped.
Lucien followed, a few steps behind, eyes scanning their surroundings. The mortal world was louder than he remembered — brimming with noise, life, chaos.
And judgment.
All around them, the crowd gathered slowly.
First children, then elders. Merchants, soldiers, priests.
No one spoke.
Until a child asked softly, "Are you… angels?"
Lena looked down at the little boy. "No," she replied, kneeling. "But we came from the sky."
Another voice rose, fearful. "Did you bring the storms last week? The crops are dying—"
"No," Lucien said, stepping forward. "That wasn't us."
An old woman stepped out next. Her eyes locked on Lena's glowing hands.
"Then who are you, child?"
Lena hesitated.
And then, for the first time in this world, she said it out loud:
"I am the Flame Reborn. Lena of the First Light. And this is Lucien, once bound by the stars. We do not come to rule. We come to warn."
A priest shouted, "Lies! Only the Pantheon may descend! This is heresy!"
Lucien raised his hand — the earth quaked.
But Lena stopped him with a look. "No. No more fear."
She turned to the priest. "The Pantheon is gone. Their thrones shattered. Their crimes erased."
Silence fell.
Until a scream broke through the hush.
"MONSTERS!"
It came from the temple steps.
A group of robed figures — clerics, guards, zealots — armed with spears and fire, surged forward.
Lucien instinctively moved to shield Lena.
But she stood still.
And raised her hand.
The fire thrown at them… froze mid-air.
The spears stopped inches from their chests.
Then dissolved into ash.
Not burned — undone.
Lena's power surged around her like a sun barely held in human skin.
The attackers collapsed, weeping. Some fled. Others knelt in terrified reverence.
And Lena said nothing.
Because she knew.
This was how it always started.
With awe. With fear. With blood.
Later, as they walked through the woods just beyond the mortal city, Lucien broke the silence.
"We shouldn't have come."
"We had to," Lena replied. "If we're to protect this world… we must understand it."
Lucien frowned. "Understand it? Or fix it?"
She turned to him. "You still think like a god."
"And you don't?"
"I think like someone who's burned everything once. And barely pulled it back from the edge."
He fell quiet.
But before he could reply, a voice called out:
"You dropped this."
They turned.
A girl stood at the tree line.
Young, maybe seventeen. Bright eyes, dirt-streaked cheeks. Holding a flower Lena hadn't realized she dropped.
Lucien stiffened.
She shouldn't have been able to see them. Not unless—
"You can feel us," Lena whispered.
The girl nodded. "Everyone can. But I can see more."
"What's your name?" Lucien asked, voice cautious.
She smiled. "Aria."
Lena felt something in her stir. A familiarity she couldn't place.
Aria stepped closer. "I've dreamed of you."
Lucien and Lena shared a glance.
The mortal timeline was unraveling.
Aria whispered, "The fire and the shadow. The kiss that burned the world. The blade that broke heaven."
Her eyes met Lena's.
"I saw you die. And rise again."
Lucien tensed. "You're a Seer."
Aria shook her head.
"I'm something else."
That night, they stayed in a forest cave — hidden from cities, from gods, from watching eyes.
Lena sat across from Aria, staring into the fire.
"You're not just a mortal, are you?"
Aria shrugged. "Not exactly. I was born after the stars cracked. My mother said I came with no heartbeat. But I still breathed."
Lucien's eyes darkened. "Then you're tethered. A child of the rift."
"A rift?" Aria asked.
He looked to Lena.
"There are places," she said carefully, "where divine essence bleeds into the mortal plane. If a soul is caught there… it becomes both."
Lucien added, "They're rare. Dangerous. Powerful."
"And hunted," Lena finished.
Aria looked between them.
"Then maybe that's why they're coming."
"Who?"
"The men in white masks," Aria said, suddenly shivering. "They call themselves the New Order."
Lucien rose instantly. "What do they want?"
"They want the old power. The kind you destroyed. They said… they said if they find you first, they'll force you to rebuild it."
Lena's jaw clenched.
It wasn't over.
Not even close.