The cavern burned with gold and crimson.
Every clash of sword and chain sent shockwaves that split stone, vaporized air, and bent reality itself.
Seraph Lysander's radiant blade carved through the air, each strike leaving trails of sacred flame. Arhaan met it head-on, his Oathbreaker ringing with the sound of defiance.
Steel and light clashed—
and for the first time, Heaven's fire did not burn the Abyss.
Lysander's eyes widened. "Impossible!"
Arhaan pushed forward, his crimson aura blazing. "Nothing's impossible when you stop asking Heaven for permission."
The ground erupted.
Arhaan spun, chains bursting outward like living serpents, wrapping around two other Seraphs mid-flight. With a sharp pull, he slammed them into the rock wall—their wings scattering feathers of golden fire.
The cavern shook under the force of his rage.
The chains on his arms began to glow brighter, shifting—changing shape as if remembering something ancient. The metal hissed with molten light, reshaping itself into living sigils that floated around his body.
Azrakar's voice echoed faintly:
> "The Chains of Heaven remember their maker. Let them remember you."
Arhaan raised a hand—and the chains obeyed.
They expanded, forming six radiant whips of energy, half gold, half crimson. Each whip moved on its own, striking in rhythm to his heartbeat.
He didn't need to command them.
He was them.
Lysander roared, spreading his six wings wide, summoning divine pillars of light.
"By order of the Celestial Throne—be purged!"
A torrent of divine fire descended.
Arhaan's eyes flashed gold and red. "Break."
The chains crossed in front of him, forming a barrier. The flames hit—then shattered, scattering sparks across the cavern.
When the smoke cleared, Arhaan stood untouched.
The Oathbreaker pulsed, feeding off the clash, its veins glowing brighter with every heartbeat.
Lysander staggered backward, wings flickering. "What… what are you?"
Arhaan's voice was calm, unshaken. "The proof that Heaven can bleed."
He vanished.
A moment later, Lysander's sword was split in half, and his light dimmed.
The other Seraphs froze, fear flickering in their divine eyes.
For the first time in millennia—
a mortal had defeated Heaven's hunters.
High above, in the celestial realm, alarms flared across the Citadel.
The High Arbiter rose from his throne, his divine gaze trembling with fury.
> "The Fallen Oath lives again."