The bells of the Celestial Citadel rang for the first time in ten thousand years.
They were not a song of glory—
but a warning.
From the highest spire, the High Arbiter gazed upon the blazing clouds, his divine robes fluttering like torn silk in the growing wind. Below him, the six remaining Elders stood in silence. None dared to speak first.
At last, the Arbiter turned. "A Seraph has fallen."
The words hung in the air like poison. Even the light dimmed.
Elder Merith, the youngest among them, broke the silence. "That… that is impossible. The Sentinels were forged from Heaven's own fire. No mortal could—"
The Arbiter's glare silenced him. "And yet, it happened."
He waved his hand, conjuring a floating vision above the chamber: the image of Arhaan, standing amid the ruins of the abyssal cavern, his chains glowing like twin suns of defiance.
"The boy bears the Oathbreaker," murmured another Elder. "Azrakar's curse lives within him."
"Not a curse," the Arbiter corrected coldly. "A contagion."
---
Meanwhile, on the lower steps of the Citadel, Kael knelt before a group of lesser angels, his golden armor gleaming.
Whispers filled the air—praise, envy, awe.
But Kael's heart wasn't at peace.
He could feel Arhaan's energy still burning in the distance. It wasn't just darkness—it was alive, unbound, and intoxicating.
A part of him envied it.
A part of him feared it.
And a part of him wanted it for himself.
The Arbiter's voice echoed through the halls, summoning him.
Kael rose, wings unfurling. "He calls."
Inside the grand chamber, he knelt before the throne.
"Rise, Heaven's Chosen," the Arbiter said. "You have a new purpose."
Kael lifted his head, eyes sharp. "Command me."
The Arbiter's gaze hardened.
"You will descend to the mortal realm and retrieve the vessel of Azrakar's power. Alive, if possible. Dead, if necessary."
Kael bowed. "The heretic will fall by my hand."
The Arbiter's lips curled faintly.
"Do not mistake him for mortal anymore, Kael. You face the echo of a fallen god."
Kael rose, divine light burning behind his eyes. "Then Heaven shall witness a god slain by its Chosen."
---
Back on the mortal mountain, Arhaan stood over the shattered armor of the Seraph.
The battle was over—but the sky above him glowed red, not from sunset, but from Heaven's gaze.
Azrakar's voice murmured faintly.
> "You've drawn their eyes, child."
Arhaan stared upward, unflinching.
"Then let them look," he said quietly. "The next time they see me… it will be from below."