The mountain trembled.
Not from thunder — but from something older. Something that had waited far longer than either god or man could remember.
Arhaan stood on the ridge, cloak whipping in the wind, the Oathbreaker pulsing faintly at his side. The red veins along its edge glowed like molten roots burrowed deep into the earth.
He could feel it.
A memory buried within the blade.
---
Suddenly, the world blurred.
In an instant, he was elsewhere — surrounded by an endless white plain, fractured by chains that reached beyond sight.
The air itself shimmered with divinity.
And before him stood a figure — tall, radiant, eyes burning like a dying sun.
Azrakar.
The jinn's armor was cracked, his wings torn, but his presence filled the world like thunder trapped in silence.
> "You seek to know the truth," the jinn said. "Then know this — the Oathbreaker was not forged to kill gods. It was forged to kill lies."
Arhaan frowned. "Lies?"
> "Heaven," Azrakar growled, voice trembling with restrained fury, "was not built by purity. It was built by conquest. The first gods swore peace, but they sealed it with chains of obedience. I broke mine — and for that, they named me fallen."
The white plain flickered. Arhaan saw flashes — cities of light burning, angels tearing each other apart, wings scattered across a red sky.
> "When I shattered their oath," Azrakar continued, "I was cast into silence. But my will lived on — in this blade, and now, in you."
Arhaan stared at the weapon, its glow pulsing in rhythm with his heartbeat.
"So Heaven's justice… was built on a lie."
> "No, child," Azrakar said softly. "Heaven is the lie."
---
Arhaan gasped — the vision shattered. He was back on the mountain, the Oathbreaker trembling in his hand.
Above him, golden light tore open the sky — Kael's descent.
Wings of blinding brilliance spread across the clouds, casting the valley in gold.
Arhaan looked up, chains tightening around his arms.
"Kael," he said quietly.
Kael landed, sword drawn, light shimmering around him like liquid flame. His voice shook, torn between duty and emotion.
"Arhaan… why do you force my hand?"
Arhaan met his gaze. "Because the hand you serve is stained."
The heavens crackled. Rain turned to steam between them.
Two auras clashed — crimson defiance and golden judgment — shaking the very bones of the mountain.
Kael's eyes flickered with pain. "You've changed."
Arhaan smirked. "No. I've just opened my eyes."
And then — light met flame.
The first strike echoed through the heavens, splitting clouds, shaking temples, and silencing angels.