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*.

Chapter 21: The Fall of the Lightguard*  


The last time Thalorion had sounded the *Horn of Ancestral Alarm*, the gods had still walked the land.


Now, it blared again — deep and thunderous — echoing across sky islands and spiraling towers. The city, once proud and radiant, stood on the edge of collapse.


*The Leviathan was no longer dreaming. It was birthing itself.*


The *Lightguard*, Thalorion's elite spiritual defenders, once believed invincible, rallied under *Commander Petros*.


Every cultivator at Peak Goldroot and above was summoned. They arrived bearing sacred relics, summoned spirit beasts, and decades of discipline.


But the Leviathan's corruption was subtle — it had already infected the *Soul Nexus*, the energy field binding the Lightguard's unity.


Their minds faltered. Some forgot comrades. Others saw illusions of lost loved ones. By the time they realized what was happening… they were already turning against each other.


Kyrillos stood at the mouth of the soul well chamber, shirt torn, body glowing faintly with the *Ascendant Soul* aura.


Sophia was beside him, hand gripped around the Heart of Nyx, keeping its instability from spiraling.


"Don't fight the beast's form," she said. "Fight its hold over memory. Anchor the Lightguard to truth."


Kyrillos nodded. "Then we'll remind them who they are."


He leapt into the soul nexus — swordless.


Instead, he *channeled a memory*: the day he saved the Lightguard from the Crimson Flood. His sacrifice. Their bond.


Light radiated out from him — touching the minds of the confused soldiers.


Until the Leviathan *spoke through one of them*.


"Why cling to loyalty," it said through the mouth of an old veteran, "when betrayal is evolution?"


With a roar, a third of the Lightguard *turned fully*. Faces blackened. Eyes gold. Souls twisted.


Above, *Calliope* led a strike team of rogues and alchemists. She tossed seal bombs into the breach's tendrils, disrupting the Leviathan's control radius.


Her mission: *seal the rift*, no matter the cost.


Behind her, *Dimitri* whispered, "You sure about this?"


"If I die, tell Sophia I still owe her a slap."


1. *Mind* – Kyrillos anchoring loyalty.


2. *Body* – Leonidas and Andreas holding the nexus gates.


3. *Spirit* – Sophia weaving barriers with the Heart.


Still, the Leviathan grew. With each fallen warrior, it gained new form — now part hydra, part mirror, part human.


The Leviathan screamed, and the tower *fractured*.


*Half the Lightguard fell*, corrupted or consumed.


Kyrillos, bleeding and furious, roared as his aura exploded — unlocking *Ascendant Soul Phase Two* mid-battle.


But it was *Sophia* who collapsed, the Heart of Nyx pulsing uncontrollably. Her body began to glow — or *burn*.


The price of holding back the Leviathan... was her *life*.
