After an unforgettable night under the Adar Tree, Zodiark returned silently to his celestial tower. His robes fluttered in the cosmic breeze, and his thoughts still danced with Moniark's laughter and the brilliance of the constellations they counted together.
His mother, the great goddess Mithrilas, waited for him silently.
Even though he had slipped away, breaking the rules of the Supreme Council, she greeted him tenderly.
"Mother! What are you doing here?" he exclaimed, in surprise and fear, thinking she would punish him, or worse, take away what little freedom he had left.
She calmly closed the distance and hugged him like a protective night.
"Calm down, my son. Pain should not torment your peace. Let it give you strength and soothe your fears," she whispered, stroking his blue hair.
Zodiark felt a few tears fall, and fell asleep in her arms, leaving his burden in maternal tenderness.
Supreme Council Meeting<<
The dawn of the Celestial Kingdom rose over an extraordinary meeting. The 17 Supreme Gods of the Divine Council gathered in the Hall of Eternal Stars, a celestial crystal dome floating among the Twelve Heavens.
Everyone was discussing the fate of Zodiark. An exemplary punishment? Exile? Retraining? The room vibrated with arguments.
When the veil of the room illuminated by floating constellations opened, Mithril, radiant like a divine dawn, emerged and stepped forward.
"Council... I beg you for balance in your judgment. My son is still a child, one seeking to understand his place in the universe. He cannot be treated as a criminal for yearning for the truth."
Phaedas (11) stood, his luminous scales floating at his side:
"Your Majesty, your son has disobeyed our laws, escaped on multiple occasions, and his mentors have acted without consent." Where is the limit?
Elyndra (16) stood slowly, her eyes shining with visions no one else could see:
"I see shadows approaching. No matter how many times he runs away, something will catch up to him. Something... inevitable. And that darkness... will change everything."
The murmurs grew. The mention of a prophecy unsettled even Lods (13), guardian of order and duality.
Divintia (7) spoke softly:
"What if the child sees what we do not? Wasn't it Nexus himself who said that those who question order are the ones who renew it?"
But in the midst of the discussion... time stopped.
> Appearance of the Creator <<
A fissure of darkness and light opened in the center of the hall. From it emerged Nexus, the Weaver of Creation, surrounded by a cosmic mist that shattered stars in its path. His presence forced all the gods to kneel without a word.
Only Aetherios (1) and Metatron (2) remained upright, bowing their heads solemnly.
Nexus spoke:
"I have heard enough. My son's fate should not be debated among deities who have forgotten the importance of feeling."
Everyone fell silent.
"The error was not his, but yours," Nexus continued. "We gave him divine wings, but we imprisoned him in golden cages. We gave him teachers, but we did not give him humanity."
Phaedas (11) tried to speak, pointing at the mentors:
"They corrupted his soul, great Nexus!"
But Nexus interrupted her with a gesture.
"They showed him what you dared not. I will not punish you... but I will not free you either."
All the gods held their breath.
"Zodiark will be banished to the Lesser Heavens. There he will learn what it is to live with pain, with blood, with truth. And his mentors will accompany him. The soul is not forged among laurels, but among scars."
Mithrilas burst into tears, her tears turning into crystals that floated in the air.
Elyndra (16) approached and held her:
"All is not lost. Pain... sometimes... is a prelude to miracles."
Aetherios (1) and Metatron (2) exchanged a glance. Judgment was sealed. The Creator's will was law.
Nexus disappeared in a blink, as if it had never been there.
One by one, the gods withdrew. Lods (13) murmured stellar calculations, Cronus (5) consulted his eternal clocks, Deadwear (8) kept his gaze fixed… as if waiting for the inevitable fall.
Only Mithrilas remained in the center of the hall, embracing a tear and the last echo of his son.
>A Little Visit<<
In some quiet corner of the Celestial Kingdom, Zodiark gazed at the stars from his window, his heart beating with a mixture of fear and hope. The words of his father, the Nexus Creator, still echoed in his mind like an unwavering sound: he would be banished to the Lesser Heavens.
Outside, the firmament seemed as serene as ever… but for him, everything had changed.
"Am I really ready to leave all this behind?" he thought. "To abandon this golden cage... and find my truth?"
In his solitude, he thought of Moniark, his friend, his anchor. "What could I bring her as a gift? Something that represents my promise to see her again… and to continue growing together?"
A soft knock on the door brought him out of his thoughts.
"Who...?" he murmured, approaching.
When he opened it, the figure of his mother was waiting for him with a serene smile. At his side, Yatma, his celestial mentor, held carefully prepared equipment. But there was a third figure: a woman wrapped in a cloak of ancient energy, with a hypnotic and serene aura. Her face was hidden behind a divine mask, from which only a soft glimmer of her golden irises filtered.
"Who... is she?" Zodiark asked, with a mixture of curiosity and intrigue.
His mother smiled tenderly.
"Don't you remember her, my son? She is Seraphyx, the Supreme Goddess of Spirits and Magical Beings. She was the one who sustained you in your first days of life, before your mentors were chosen."
Zodiark opened his eyes in surprise. He felt something... a warm, ancient presence. As if that goddess had not only always known him, but understood him beyond the visible.
Seraphyx took a step forward. Her voice was soft, but carried a deep resonance.
"Calm down, little prince... You mustn't fear me. It was I who sang to you in your dreams, when you couldn't even walk yet. I watched over you... and I still watch you from the veils of the spirit spring."
Zodiark lowered his gaze, feeling something indescribable in his chest. "How can she know my dreams...? Can she see inside me...?"
"Hey, that's not how you look at a lady, little prince!" Yatma laughed mischievously. "Straighten your back, or she'll think you're enchanted."
Zodiark smiled nervously.
Then, the atmosphere suddenly grew denser. Seraphyx's aura flickered like an omen. Her voice became more serious:
"There's something you should know... something no one has told you yet."
A silence fell over the room. Zodiark's mother lowered her gaze in regret.
"When you cross into the Lesser Heavens… you will lose all divine protection. Your body will cease to be immortal. You may be hurt. You will feel hunger. Tiredness. Pain."
Zodiark's soul vibrated. A chill ran down his spine as if his veins were on fire. Reality hit him for the first time.
"Could I… die?" he whispered, almost voiceless.
"Yes," Seraphyx replied. "Like any mortal being. But also… you will be able to truly live."
"Do not fear, Zodiark," Yatma added gently. "Feeling pain is part of the journey. And you… are stronger than you think."
His mother approached and stroked his cheek soothingly.
"You have your father's strength… but the heart is mine. May that combination keep you standing when the world seems to be falling."
Zodiark nodded, blinking back tears. Then Yatma offered him a box adorned with ancient emblems.
"Alexander asked me to give you this."
Opening it, he found a sword edged with star diamond and a divine shield engraved with protective runes. Its touch was light, but its energy was intense. The offerings of his mentor... and of his destiny.
Seraphyx approached as well, and from his robes he extracted two sacred relics: a living crystal pendant containing a protective spirit, and a ring of elemental magic binding him.
"Take them with you," the goddess said. "They will remind you of who you are... even when you forget it."
Zodiark lowered his head and, on the verge of tears, embraced his mother.
"Thank you for letting me try..."
"I never doubted you, my brightest star," she whispered.
Ready to leave, he slowly descended the steps of his tower. Every step was a farewell. Every wall, every corner, seemed to hold a part of his childhood. But there was no time for nostalgia.
Along with Yatma, he was heading toward the gates of the Celestial Kingdom.
When, suddenly, a sea breeze filled the corridor. A soft hum crossed the air… and a familiar voice broke the silence.
"Are you leaving without saying goodbye… to me?"
Zodiark immediately turned.
"Thalos!"
There stood the God of the Sea, with short hair and a serene expression, wrapped in a layer of shimmering foam. His presence was like an eternal wave: calm, powerful… unstoppable
.
"I searched for you all over the kingdom," the boy said. "I thought you had already left."
"Sometimes I prefer the Lesser Heavens… there is less protocol and more people who need help."
"And Zeus? Alexander?"
"Outside, waiting for you. But tell me… who's going to stop us from having one last battle?"
Zodiark froze.
"A... battle? Now?"
Thalos smiled, crossing his arms.
"Are you going to leave without showing me what you've learned? You always said you wanted to surpass me someday..."
"We're in a hurry," Yatma intervened seriously. "This is no time for games, Thalos. He's spiritually and emotionally exhausted."
"Leave him alone," Zodiark interrupted, taking a deep breath. "If I can't even face a simple duel... how will I survive down there?"
The mentor sighed, stepping away in resignation.
"Don't underestimate the boy," Thalos told her, raising his voice as they walked toward the battle garden. "Today I'll see if you're no longer the same little boy who used my trident as a toy sword."
"And I'll see if you're still as strong as you always boast," Zodiark replied, with a determined smile, though with a shadow of doubt in his eyes.
Yatma watched intently from a distance. Her eyes shone with the uncertainty of an adoptive mother… and the faith that this child was finally forging his destiny.
The heavens slowly opened, as two souls prepared for the inevitable.
A Farewell Battle<<
Silence dominated the celestial garden.
The golden columns glittered in the starlight, and the white marble shimmered as if sensing the clash of two divine wills. Facing each other, stood the young cosmic prince and the god of the seas. Both were heirs to powers beyond them… but only one had swum in the ocean of experience.
Zodiark swallowed as he drew his diamond-edged sword. The metal thrummed with subtle energy, fueled by his determination. Beside him, the divine shield emitted defensive pulses, attuned to his protective aura.
In front of him, Thalos smiled confidently, with no visible weapon. His body emanated celestial moisture; small droplets of water floated around him as if the atmosphere itself surrendered to his presence.
"Sword and shield, eh?" the lesser god commented playfully. "I don't use steel." The ocean is my only spear... and my only defense.
Zodiark nodded, adopting a stance he'd learned from Alexander: foot forward, shield raised, sword arm flexed, ready to respond.
The air vibrated.
Without warning, Thalos launched an attack.
His silhouette disappeared in a liquid current. The ground shook, and a burst of compressed water erupted from the marble in the form of liquid blades. Zodiark barely had time to activate a barrier magic: a shimmering blue field enveloped his shield, absorbing the impact of the slicing waves.
CLANG! SLASH! BOOM!
The water blows hammered away, each one more powerful than the last. Zodiark retreated step by step, his boots slipping on the wet surface.
"Celestial Protection, amplify me!" he shouted, placing his free hand on his chest.
A golden light covered his body. His sword became lighter, his movements faster, and his energy more vivid. Deity-Level Augmentation Magic.
Zodiark spun, charging forward like a blue comet. The sword flashed with heroic fury. A horizontal slash, a vertical slash, and a thrust. All in one motion!
But Thalos was like water: he adapted.
With a wave of his hand, his body became liquid, and the sword pierced him like mist. Then he appeared to Zodiark's left, carrying a swirling orb of pure water.
"Ancestral Whirlpool!" he shouted.
The orb exploded, forming a local pressure storm, enveloping the boy in a maelstrom of water and wind. Zodiark barely managed to plant his shield, but the force pushed him back against one of the pillars. His magical energy trembled.
Still, he stood. Trembling, panting, his eyes blazing.
"I will not give up! Double Augment, Second Wave!" he tried to chant.
But he stumbled. The energy destabilized. The spell collapsed.
"Too soon," Yatma whispered from afar. "His soul is strong, but his body is still that of a child…"
Zodiark staggered back. He tried one more slash, this time imbued with his own will, no words, only faith.
Thalos allowed himself to be struck. A shallow cut opened on his arm.
"That hurt!" he laughed in surprise. "But that was all, wasn't it?"
The god raised both hands. Water from the air condensed into a shimmering blue spear. It wasn't physical, but an extension of his sea soul.
"Final Torrent!" he declared.
The spear erupted in a spiral of holy waves. Zodiark could not counter the spell. He raised his shield, but his magic was already at its limit. The impact threw him through the air and he fell to the ground, his sword trembling beside him.
The fight was over.
Thalos approached, holding out a hand.
"You didn't win, but you held out longer than I imagined. You have the will... you just need the time."
Zodiark, panting, smiled proudly. His lips were bleeding, but his spirit was at peace.
"Thank you... for not holding back."
"A god who fights with you without giving his all... would not be respecting you."
Yatma quickly approached, enveloping him in a healing field.
"Rest, little one. You did well."
Zodiark closed his eyes as his body floated into his mentor's ministrations.
His destiny awaited him below, in the Lesser Heavens. But now he knew something he hadn't understood before: power was not measured only in levels... but in what one was willing to protect.
Those Who Observe from afar<<
A raised terrace above the Marble Garden, surrounded by ethereal columns and a railing of celestial light. From there, one could overlook the battlefield where Zodiark and Thalos had just fought.
The two mentors sat on the edge, cups of golden nectar floating in front of them. Though Alexander, a giant machine with a soul, cannot possibly taste that nectar.
Alexander leaned forward, watching as Yatma carefully healed Zodiark.
"He did better than I expected... Though, frankly, I was hoping he wouldn't try so hard," he murmured earnestly.
Zeus, who was lying face up on a bank of clouds, his hands under his head and his feet dangling over the edge, burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! Did you see that face when he said 'Double Boost, Second Wave!'" He stumbled worse than me when I tried to say curved convex constellation with a converging chaotic quadruple.
Alexander turned his head slowly.
"That doesn't even exist," he commented in a deep voice.
"Exactly! That's why I'm stumbling," Zeus replied, winking at him.
"Oush!" Alexander grunted, seeming to not care about Zeus's comment.
Yatma, standing next to Zodiark's little boy, crossed her arms and sighed with a mixture of relief and sadness.
"It was brave. But a bit foolish of him..." Giving Zodiark a light pat on the back, which was a little confused and tired.
Alexander nodded.
"He has reflexes, instinct, but he still doesn't understand the difference between power... and control. And he'll only learn that by falling. Maybe many times."
Zeus finally sat down, stretching like a celestial cat. "And what about Thalos?" He held back just enough. Although that "Final Torrent Spear" made me sweat... and I'm the god of thunder, not sweat."
Yatma smiled softly and added:
"Thalos was wise. He gave him a defeat that hurts, but doesn't break him. One of those you remember with pride... and with bruises."
Alexander slowly rose from his place and slowly began to walk, gazing into the distance at the sky, which was already beginning to tinge with the hues of descent.
"From tomorrow on, it will be different for him and for everyone."
Zeus rose from the cloud where he had been resting.
"Yes, yes... but, just in case, I left a package of celestial snacks hidden in his backpack. He's a child, Alexander, not a soldier."
Yatma laughed softly.
"I sewed a protective symbol on his cloak, one that will guide him in his dreams. That way, I'll sense anything if he gets lost in some deep sleep."
Alexander looked at them both. His eyes, normally serious and sharp, softened for a moment.
"I think the kid wants to rest better." He carried him slowly. He picked up Zodiark and carried him up on his giant metal shoulder, so he could rest during the journey.
"Hey, metal giant, since when were you sentimental? You used to be the most heartless machine of all." Zeus said, slightly surprised by the sudden change.
Yatma laughed slightly.
"Men always think about destruction and food."
"Hey, think about it, since we're heading to the lower heavens, it wouldn't be a bad idea to stop off at that place where we began our adventures as ancient heroes." Zeus said.
"Do you want to go back in time? Before everything goes to hell?" Alexander said.
"I think it's best if we stop by to greet our old acquaintances and find a place for the little Zodiark to rest without all the fuss." —Yatma expressed with a sigh of relief.
—And while we're at it, we'll eat that special, unique, and divine dish that was only served in that guild.—Zeus expressed with a very hungry gesture.
—Ush! Thinking about food again, you've just drunk that strange nectar.—Alexander commented, walking slowly in that celestial meadow.
—Hey, you're saying that because you can't eat anything.—Zeus expressed with a slight smile.
—Ish! With a gesture of not responding to Zeus's carnal desires. Meanwhile, Yatma watched behind them and the small Zodiark resting on Alexander's metallic shoulders.
That's how those mentors traveled, accompanying our protagonist on his next adventures, their destiny marked and without knowing what awaited him.
Will Zodiark be able to reunite with his friend? What happened to the mentors before they became gods? What happened when they were training and raising the little zodiark?