CHAPTER 32: The Echo of Divinity
MEANWHILE ON EARTH.
The golden wind parted as Darius soared higher into the afternoon sky. The world below looked like a slow-moving painting gray roofs, silver roads, streams of cars crawling between tiled road. His divine wings glowed bright, every flap spreading trails of golden dust that vanished behind him.
His eyes were locked on a faint shimmer of energy that only he could see. It was not ordinary mana. It twisted like smoke through space, constantly changing color and form. Every few seconds, it shifted from blue to red, then to green, like a living spectrum that refused to stay still.
He frowned. "It keeps changing patterns. Like something learning as it moves."
He hovered in the air, suspended above the clouds, his long coat rippling behind him. The wind didn't move him; it simply flowed around him like it was afraid. He raised his hand, pressing two fingers to his temple. A golden circuit formed around his wrist and neck, an activation mark for his divine link.
The satellites orbiting the country blinked for a brief second. Then every computer in the national network turned white.
Alarms rang inside government buildings across the city. Officers jumped to their feet, confused as screens went blank and strange golden symbols began to appear on every monitor.
In the control room underground, the general nearly dropped his cup of coffee. "What's going on? Who authorized this code?"
A voice came from the speakers, calm and arrogant. "You people truly are hopeless. How can you call yourselves a security agency when a single person can break through your firewall in ten seconds?"
The minister's face went pale. "It's him again. Lord Darius."
"Very good," Darius said, his voice echoing through their speakers alone. "Now listen carefully before I lose my patience."
The screens shifted, showing a live feed from his divine view. The officers gasped as they saw the sky through his eyes. A glowing map appeared, pinpointing a wide area near the industrial district.
"This location," Darius said, "what is it?"
The general quickly looked through his files. "That's… an abandoned warehouse. It hasn't been in use for almost ten years."
"Then why...," Darius asked slowly, "is it filled with illegal artifacts and leaking strange energy stronger than a dungeon core?"
The room went silent.
One of the analysts stuttered, "A-artifacts? That's impossible. We had no registered activity in that area."
Darius laughed coldly. "Of course you didn't. You are blind. You sit in your little chairs, running old programs while smugglers play gods under your nose. If I were your enemy, your entire defense network would collapse in a day."
The minister tried to sound calm. "We had no recent reports of smuggling, my lord. Maybe the energy source was hidden by...."
"By your stupidity, yes." Darius's voice cut him off. "Do not insult me with excuses. Keep your soldiers out of this. I will clean your mess myself."
Before anyone could respond, the connection ended. The screens returned to normal, leaving everyone staring at their reflections in silence.
Up in the sky, Darius smiled. "Pathetic creatures."
He folded his wings and shot downward like a falling star. The air around him screamed. The clouds split apart as he broke the sound barrier, descending toward the old industrial zone.
The warehouse appeared beneath him, a massive building of rusted metal and broken windows. The roof was half-collapsed, and the ground around it was filled with weeds and forgotten machines. Yet the air fumed faint aura, vibrating with hidden energy.
Darius landed softly on the roof, folding his wings into light. He crouched and placed his palm on the rusted metal surface. Instantly, streams of golden symbols spread across the roof like living fire, scanning every corner of the structure.
"Multiple heat signatures," he whispered. "How amusing. Rats living in an abandoned sewer."
Inside the warehouse, a group of rough-looking men stood in a circle. Their clothes were dirty, their eyes sharp and tired. On the table between them lay scattered tools, scraps of magical cores, and broken fragments of low-grade artifacts.
One man slammed his fist on the table. "I'm telling you, that woman wasn't normal! She just walked in, said something about peace, and next thing we know the boss is screaming on the floor like he lost his mind!"
Another spat on the ground. "Yeah, she came in looking like some assassin or something. Thought she was lost, but then she touched the boss's head and he started foaming. Now he's in a mental hospital talking to walls."
A third man leaned against a crate. "Boss said never to touch strange women, now look where that got him."
They all laughed nervously.
Then the roof cracked.
A glowing line spread across the ceiling like a scar. Before anyone could react, the metal burst apart, and Darius dropped from above, landing in the middle of the room. His boots hit the ground with a heavy thud, dust and sparks flying around him.
Everyone froze.
Darius looked at them one by one. "So," he said softly, "these are the insects crawling in the dirt of this country."
The men exchanged glances, confused. One stepped forward, holding a small dagger. "Who the hell are you?"
Darius smiled...a slow, dangerous curve of lips. "The last face you'll ever see if you keep talking."
The man shouted and rushed forward.
The blade never reached him.
A bright flash filled the room. When it cleared, the man was lying on the floor unconscious, his dagger melted on his face. The others backed away, drawing guns and short staffs.
"Shoot him!" one yelled.
Bullets filled the air, but Darius raised his hand lazily. The golden feathers that had fallen from his wings earlier floated up and surrounded him. Each feather exploded mid-air, releasing shockwaves that deflected every shot. The noise was deafening.
When the smoke cleared, he was gone.
"Where did he...." one started to say, but a strong gust of wind knocked him into the wall.
Darius appeared behind them, his eyes glowing like small suns. He moved faster than sight. Each punch he threw created shockwaves that shattered concrete. His movements were graceful yet terrifying, every motion controlled, precise, and merciless.
One man tried to swing a metal pipe, but it bent before it reached Darius's head. Invisible pressure crushed the man's arms, and he screamed as he hit the ground.
"Telekinesis," Darius said softly, tilting his head. "Even your thoughts are slower than mine."
He spread his wings again, and a storm of light filled the warehouse. Feathers shot out like golden knives, piercing the floor and walls. Each one exploded in a burst of divine fire that blinded the remaining criminals.
They screamed and crawled away, but there was nowhere to run.
Darius walked through the smoke, calm and elegant, as if strolling through a garden. "You rats truly believed you could steal divine artifacts and hide them here? Tell me, did your little boss teach you this level of stupidity, or were you born with it?"
The last man standing dropped his weapon and fell to his knees. "Please… please, I don't know what's going on. We were just guarding the place. Some woman came here a few days ago, she...."
Darius raised a brow. "A woman?"
"Yes," the man said quickly. "She said something about a hidden egg... She didn't look dangerous, but then everything went dark. When we woke up, most of the artifact were missing."
Darius's eyes narrowed. "Missing?"
He looked around. The entire warehouse was empty. Every artifact, every trace of magical energy, every enchanted item...it was all gone. Only faint trails of luminous slime remained on the ground, dissolving like evaporated water.
He crouched and touched the floor. The light responded to his touch, forming a line that stretched outward through the city.
Something had consumed the artifacts.
Something alive.
He closed his eyes and concentrated. A soft hum filled the air as he traced the energy further. His mind's eye followed the invisible thread through streets, rivers, and buildings, until it reached a familiar place on the map.
A school.
The same one where he had earlier sensed the unstable power.
He opened his eyes slowly, his face calm but his voice low and dangerous. "So it feeds on artifacts and moves toward human life. How interesting."
The criminal on the floor tried to crawl away, but Darius didn't even look at him. A pulse of light feathers spread from his body, and ...
BOOMMMM!!!!
Blood splattering everywhere.
Darius stood up and walked to the broken doorway. The afternoon light poured in, mixing with the golden glow from his wings.
He looked toward the horizon where the city stretched endlessly. "A force that devours divine objects… heading for a school." He smiled faintly. "Maybe this country isn't as boring as I thought."
He spread his wings wide. The entire building trembled as he took off, blasting into the sky like a golden comet.
Behind him, the warehouse finally collapsed, reduced to ash and glowing feathers.
Far below, as he soared over the city, the golden trail of energy stretched ahead of him like a faint whisper. He could sense it pulsing faintly, like a heartbeat.
It wasn't just energy anymore. It was awakening.
And Darius, the Lord of the Sky, was now its hunter.