She stood at the edge of Kael's fabricated reality, her face barely changed—same sharp eyes, same commanding stance.
But something was off.
> "Neriah…?" he whispered, stepping forward.
She flinched. Her armor was cracked, her face pale, her aura dimmer than he remembered. And yet—her presence cut through the illusion like a blade.
> "You shouldn't be here," she said. "Not this deep. Not in this place."
Kael's heart pounded.
> "I saw you die. You fell in the Trial of Ash. The gods…"
"Lied," she interrupted bitterly.
Kael hesitated. The world around them trembled, glitches in the fabric of his conjured realm spreading like cracks in glass.
> "Wait," he muttered, narrowing his eyes. "How did you get in here? This is my Veil."
She smirked faintly.
> "I didn't enter it. You pulled me in."
Kael's pulse stopped.
> "What?"
> "When your power broke containment, your soul screamed across dimensions. I was caught in the echo—dragged through the fold, torn from my prison."
She limped closer. "I'm barely holding together. You're burning a hole through reality, Kael. The gods will come soon."
---
Suddenly, the Veil shattered.
A golden spear pierced the sky like lightning, striking the center of the illusory city. Explosions of divine light tore through Kael's domain, dissolving buildings, twisting clouds, and vaporizing memories.
> "DIE, HERETIC!"
A voice thundered through existence itself.
Descending from above, clad in celestial gold, was a Tribunal Warden—Seraph Elandros, one of the divine executioners. His six radiant wings blazed as he pointed his glaive directly at Kael.
> Kael's System Flared
System Warning: High-tier Celestial Entity detected. Combat not advised.
Recommended Action: FLEE.
But Kael didn't run.
He turned to Neriah.
> "Can you still fight?"
She gave a grim smile. "Long as you don't let me die—again."
---
[Combat Engaged: Kael & Neriah vs Seraph Elandros]
Elandros landed with divine force, sending shockwaves through the fractured realm. With a roar, he launched forward, glaive cleaving through space.
Kael raised his arm—and space rippled.
> [Eld Veil: Spatial Fold]
(Reality bends. Time staggers. The blade misses.)
Kael twisted behind the Seraph and struck.
Boom!
His fist connected—only to glance off Elandros' celestial armor. The warden countered instantly, wings whipping out and slamming into Kael with explosive light.
Kael hit the ground hard, body sparking with arcane energy.
> "You're not ready," Elandros growled. "You play with power you do not comprehend."
> "Then teach me," Kael hissed, standing again. "So I can tear it from you."
Neriah stepped in—swords dancing, her strikes fueled by remembered rage. She cut across Elandros' wing, drawing divine ichor.
The Seraph howled in pain.
---
> System Update: Hybrid Core Sync – 87%
New Skill Acquired: Gravity Lash – Condense spatial weight into a single strike.
Kael moved with newfound force.
CRACK!
His punch bent the air, dragging Elandros downward like a collapsing star. The Seraph crashed into the earth, his glow flickering.
> "Impossible…" he coughed. "That level of compression—only Old Blood could…"
Kael stood over him.
> "I'm done running. I'm done begging for scraps."
> "You think power makes you a god?" the Seraph spat. "You'll never be divine. You're corruption wearing flesh."
Kael's eyes glowed darker.
> "I don't want divinity."
"I want vengeance."
---
He raised his hand to finish it—
But a flash of golden chains wrapped around Elandros, pulling him into a divine portal above.
> "CEASE!" roared a new voice.
"He is not yours to kill—not yet."
Kael looked up.
Descending from the rift was a woman cloaked in stars, silver hair flowing like liquid moonlight. Her gaze burned like twin suns.
> High Deity Lysara.
> "You've caused enough damage, child," she said, voice calm but terrifying.
"But now you have our attention."
Kael stood his ground. Power swirled around him. "Good."
> "Then listen closely."
She extended a finger.
And with a single word, froze both Kael and Neriah in time.
---
> "The gods are not your only enemies, Kael Solas."
"Your awakening has stirred what sleeps beneath even us."
"If you continue, you will not just destroy the pantheon…"
"…you will unmake the world itself."
She turned her gaze to Neriah.
> "And you—traitor soul—you don't belong anymore."
> "I go where he goes," Neriah snarled. "Even to the void."
Lysara smiled faintly. "We'll see."
She snapped her fingers.
Everything went white.
---
[Location Shift – The Waking World]
Kael awoke, gasping.
The sky above him was real again. Stars hung motionless. Grass brushed against his skin.
He sat up—
Neriah was lying beside him, barely conscious. But breathing.
> "We made it back," he whispered.
But something was… off.
His hand pulsed with black light. New runes ran up his forearm—jagged, ancient, shifting.
His core had changed.
> System Update: Latent Eld-Core fully integrated.
New Title Gained: The Riftborn
> You are now a threat to all divine systems. You have been marked for annihilation.
Kael stood slowly.
The wind whispered strange things in languages that hadn't existed in millennia.
And in the distance, something stirred beneath the ground.
> A tower.
> Black. Cracked. Breathing.
It pulsed once—and Kael felt it watching.
---
[TO BE CONTINUED]