The city of Duskfall slept uneasily.
Shadows whispered through alleyways. Market stalls, once filled with barter and noise, now stood quiet under the weight of anticipation. Everyone could feel it.
Something was coming.
The first spark.
Abandoned Transit Hub - Midnight
The disciples moved in silence, faces hooded, glyphs glowing faintly beneath their sleeves. Selene led the northern squad, her steps measured and precise. To her left was Raan, the former thief. To her right, Kael, the blind fireweaver.
Each held a role.
Each carried a flame.
Altharion's voice echoed in her memory:
"This city was built on bones. Tonight, we remind them what still walks the grave."
At the center of the hub sat a conduit node—a relic from a forgotten age, pulsing faintly with suppressed ley energy.
Selene placed her hand on it. The runes across her skin reacted.
"Unlock," she whispered.
The node hummed.
Three symbols ignited in sequence, breaking the Dome's ancient suppressor wards. For the first time in centuries, pure mana surged through the underground tunnels of Duskfall.
Above ground, street lamps flickered.
In the palace district, sages paused mid-ritual.
Across the city, dormant spells awoke.
The people didn't know what it meant.
But they knew who had done it.
Forgehouse Rooftop - Moments Later
Altharion stood alone beneath the stars.
The air shimmered with power.
"It has begun," he whispered.
Behind him, the younger disciples watched the skyline as glyphs bloomed like constellations across rooftops, marking rebel safehouses, awakened wards, and leyline control points.
The city was being rewritten.
By morning, Duskfall would no longer belong to the Celestial Dome.
Celestial Dome - Command Hall
Panic.
Scrying pools erupted in static. Divination threads snapped like brittle glass. Communications failed across three provinces.
Helios stormed into the hall, his cloak crackling with barely contained rage.
"What happened?"
A trembling magister responded. "He's activated the ley grid. The old one. The one sealed after the Archon War. We didn't even know it still existed."
Helios stared at the central map.
Duskfall pulsed with power.
"Then they will know our fear," he said coldly. "Initiate Martial Protocol 7. Lock the city. And awaken the Sentinels."
City Streets - Just Before Dawn
The people woke to a different world.
Banners bearing the Rune of Becoming now fluttered from spires and balconies. Glyph-markers had appeared on shop doors, alleyways, and temple steps—warnings and invitations all at once.
No blood had been spilled.
No soldiers had marched.
And yet the city had changed.
Selene stood atop the bell tower, watching as citizens emerged from their homes and looked around in awe, confusion, and—slowly—hope.
She felt a strange calm.
It wasn't war.
Not yet.
It was proof.
That the Dome could bleed. That their control wasn't divine.
That fire could create, not just destroy.
Temple of the Hollow Star - Lysaria's Vision
The starlit pool rippled.
Lysaria saw the banners, the glowing streets, the people rising.
"He did it," she whispered. "Without war. Without command."
She looked to her attendants. "Send word to the Outer Orders. The Archon does not seek destruction. He seeks inheritance."
She turned back to the pool, voice soft.
"And for the first time in an age… he may deserve it."
Final Scene - Forgehouse Inner Chamber
Altharion sat alone, surrounded by open tomes and flickering glyphs.
A city now listened.
But soon… others would challenge him.
He looked to the obsidian ring.
And whispered:
"Let the fire judge us all."