The sky split open.

Thunder didn’t roll—it roared, howled, like a beast wounded by fate. The heavens bled crimson as celestial lightning arced through the skies, searing the firmament. Rain poured down, not water, but something heavier—mixed with ash and divine residue. Olympus itself trembled.

High upon the *Altar of Judgement*, chained by glowing celestial runes, knelt a boy.

*Kyrillos*.

Barefoot, beaten, and broken—not by combat, but by betrayal. His once radiant robes were in tatters, his body scorched with marks of restraint, divine bindings pulsing against his skin.

He was seventeen.

The boy once praised as the Prodigy of the Silver Flame, the Heir of the Celestial Phoenix Sect… now a heretic, condemned by those who once toasted his victories.

Around him stood the *Twelve Grand Houses*, their banners flapping wildly in the divine storm. Faces half-shadowed under golden helms and jeweled crowns, yet none dared look him in the eye. Only one figure, hidden in the rear, wept silently behind a silver veil—*Aphrodite*.

While Kyrillos and his allies fought their way toward unity, far in the scorched lands of *Vel'shaar*, the enemy moved silently — and ruthlessly. The cult was not a mindless horde; it was a hive of schemes, blood oaths, and ancient commands.


At its blackened heart stood the high priest of the cult: *Erevos*, servant of the *Ashborne Sovereign*.


Deep underground, within a chamber lit by cursed torches, Erevos stood before a cocoon of dark flame — pulsing, whispering, feeding.


It was the Sovereign's *vessel*, slowly rebuilding itself using captured souls and forbidden relics.


A voice echoed in Erevos' mind — cold, hungry, older than creation.


*"He awakens... the soul-bound warrior. The girl with the light. The council... They believe they lead the game. But the board is mine."*


Erevos bowed. "Then it is time we strike their hearts."


Erevos turned to his lieutenants — not mindless cultists, but terrifying figures with loyalty to different goals.


- *Nyxara the Hollow*: Once a healer from the Eastern Peaks. Now, she wears no face — a void of empathy and pain. She's obsessed with *Sophia*, believing her light stole her destiny.


- *Thanatos*: An exiled monk who feeds off agony. He believes pain is enlightenment. His only goal is to face *Andreas* and break his will.


- *Petros the Bound*: A once-great general cursed to obey Erevos. Secretly, he plots rebellion — and remembers *Kyrillos* from his past life.


- *Alethea*: A double agent placed within Thalorion's court. No one knows her true allegiance — yet.


Erevos raised the Heart of Obsidian — a corrupted relic tied to the *last seal*. Its pulse resonated with the distant *Heart of Nyx* that Kyrillos now carried.


"Begin the rites," Erevos ordered. "Their bond shall burn. Their hope will twist into despair."


Unknown to Kyrillos and Sophia, their soul-link — though powerful — was *manipulated* at its awakening by an ancient curse inscribed in the Heart of Nyx.


If either one of them *falls*, the other will spiral into madness.


The Ashborne Sovereign whispered through the vessel:  


*"Let them gather their armies. Let them fall in love. When they are strongest — I shall take everything."*


Chapter 16: The Sovereign's Eye