> "When a god forgets their name, the sky weeps stars."
"When a mortal dares to speak it again, the gods call it blasphemy."
"But when a voice returns, heaven itself cracks."
---
🌌 Above the Ninth Sky – Thronefall Begins
The first throne had crumbled.
Not from battle.
From remembrance.
The Bound King did not strike it. He merely spoke.
And the throne — carved from silence and lies — shattered like porcelain in fire.
The celestial court spiraled into chaos.
The God of Chains unsheathed his blade of bindings.
The Pale Matron vanished into her veil.
The Serpent Judge hissed through burning teeth.
> "He cannot be allowed to speak again."
But it was too late.
Vaeren's second word came like a storm.
> "Elyazrah."
A name that had been stripped from heaven, cursed into ruin.
A god once erased for mercy.
And when that name was spoken...
---
⚡ The Second Throne collapsed.
Its star fell, burning across the sky like a blood-soaked arrow.
It struck the Celestial Divide and shattered a continent that mortals believed unbreakable.
And in that moment, across the mortal world...
Every slave chain rusted.
Every curse tattoo turned to ash.
Every false scripture blackened and curled.
The Voice had returned.
And the thrones — for all their power — had no defense against truth.
---
🔥 Ashmarch – At the Edge of the March
They saw the sky burn.
And they understood.
Karna sheathed Truthbreak, his hands shaking not with fear — but recognition.
> "He's not just unsealing the past," he whispered. "He's correcting it."
Aralyndra stood beside him, trembling as new runes bloomed along her arms and collarbones.
The army watched as gold fire spiraled into her chest and settled like a second heartbeat.
She fell to her knees. Her lips moved with words no one else could hear.
> "He's calling me," she said.
> "Vaeren?" Karna asked.
She shook her head, her voice hollow with awe.
> "Astraeva."
---
🜃 Somewhere Beyond Time – The Wound Between Worlds
In the void where magic first wept, the gods began crafting a weapon.
Something not forged by starfire.
Something worse.
> A Throneless Beast.
It was never meant to walk this world again. It was made from the sins of the gods. From betrayal. From fear.
And now… they would release it.
Because they were losing control.
Because mortals were remembering.
And memory was stronger than law.
---
⚔️ The Plains Below Ashmarch – As the March Moves
The army moved under falling stars.
Not one soldier turned back.
Even when the sky opened and something stepped through it.
Something without a name.
A body of smoke and bone.
A roar that turned words to screams.
A shadow that bled across reality.
The Throneless Beast had arrived.
And it spoke not with voice — but with silence that unraveled minds.
Dozens fell, eyes bleeding. Even the rune-singers faltered.
Aralyndra rose, stepping forward.
Her sword lit with a glow not seen in a thousand years.
> "You were made by fear," she whispered.
> "But I am not afraid."
The Beast turned toward her.
And for the first time, it paused.
Because within her voice… was Astraeva.
---
🌠 The First Strike – The Fire Unbound
Karna stepped beside her.
> "Together?"
She nodded.
> "Always."
They charged.
Truthbreak sang.
Whispersong wept.
Their voices merged as steel kissed sky.
And when they struck the Throneless Beast—
They didn't wound it.
They named it.
And in that name, it shattered.
Because even monsters built by gods cannot stand against truth remembered.
---
🌑 Far Above – Vaeren Watched
The Bound King stood atop a bridge of falling stars.
Two thrones now gone.
Seven remained.
He closed his eyes.
And whispered:
> "Let them fall."
---
End of Chapter 9 – The Second Throne Falls