Chapter 23: The Executioner's Hour
The sky above Emberreach cracked with unnatural gold.
Not lightning.
Not a storm.
But a divine fracture — a rippling wheel of radiant judgment spinning slowly overhead, casting concentric halos of light and heat across the horizon. The streets of the city stilled, its people gazing upward in mute terror.
[System Warning: Celestial Authority Detected]
[Heaven-Class Entity Approaching: Nihriel the Judgement Flame]
Shen stood at the edge of the shattered Bloomroot altar, eyes narrowing as his Voidbrand pulsed with a low, eerie hum. The mark across his chest shimmered — a shifting glyph of black light — reacting to the divine force descending toward them.
Beside him, Nyxria staggered slightly, her fingers glowing with traces of the Bloomroot's ancestral code.
She looked up. "Heaven-Class…? They're sending a divine enforcer?"
Shen didn't answer immediately. His gaze locked on the golden spiral burning in the sky. He could feel its weight, not just on the air — but on reality itself. Judgment incarnate.
His voice, calm as always: "We've crossed their line."
Suddenly, the world inverted.
A shockwave of golden energy spiraled downward from the heavens like a lance — divine authority tearing through cloud and air, striking the city's central tower.
BOOOOOOOM.
A cathedral-like spire exploded into light and rubble. Fire did not spread — it was annihilation without flame, clean and righteous in its devastation.
And from the light stepped Nihriel.
Adorned in divine plate forged from threads of solar metal and dawnglass, she hovered rather than walked — six burning wings fanned out behind her, and a glowing ring rotated behind her head, inscribed with celestial glyphs.
She spoke.
No.
She proclaimed.
"By the Edict of Celestial Balance, Flame Sector — I, Nihriel the Judgement Flame, hereby sentence the aberration known as the Voidwalker to full nullification."
"The sentence extends to all corrupted souls touched by the Bloomroot surge."
Her golden eyes locked on Shen.
And for the first time, she smiled.
[Warning: Combat Class Difference Detected – Host is two tiers below Enforcer Nihriel]
[Success Odds: 0.0013%]
[System Suggestion: FLEE]
Shen's reply?
He stepped forward.
Voidbrand pulsing.
Nyxria whispered, "You're not planning to run."
He unsheathed his blade slowly. "Running now means she kills everyone here — and maybe even Aeris."
A name that still burned inside him.
He turned to Nyxria. "You said the Bloomroot was awakening something. Can you finish syncing with it?"
Nyxria clenched her fists. "It's risky, but… I can try. I'll need time."
Shen nodded once.
"Then I'll buy it."
Scene: Voidwalker vs. Heaven-Class Enforcer
Nihriel extended her arm, and from the divine halo behind her, a burning wheel of judgment formed — twelve spokes representing twelve celestial sins.
It spun once, then launched toward Shen like a comet.
He vanished.
[VoidShadow Step]
The wheel carved a perfect trench through the earth, flattening trees, stone, and even space. But Shen had already reappeared beside her, blade aimed at the gaps between her armor.
CLANG!
A shockwave erupted. Her armor didn't break — it sang, dissonant and holy.
She turned, faster than human reflex, and drove a palm into Shen's chest.
He flew through two buildings, crashing in a trail of void sparks.
[Voidbrand Sync Rate: 68%]
[Warning: Internal damage critical]
Shen wiped the blood from his mouth, and stood again. "She hits hard."
Behind him, the Voidbrand glyph shifted, awakening another line.
"Unlock the Chain."
"Rewrite the Sky."
The system pulsed.
[Void Ascension Path Available]
→ Activate Brand Chain One: Nullburst Core?
→ Warning: This path cannot be reversed.
Shen didn't hesitate.
"Do it."
Void Ascension: Brand Chain One – Nullburst Core
The world dimmed.
All color drained from Shen's surroundings, replaced by black and violet hues. His aura exploded — shadows igniting with a color that shouldn't exist.
His sword melted into shadow-metal and reformed with layered glyphs.
His eyes burned with voidlight.
Above him, Nihriel paused mid-assault.
"Impossible. That mark… it was erased in the First Collapse."
Shen's voice echoed now — laced with something ancient.
"I'm not just the Voidwalker anymore."
"I'm the one who returned from the edge."
Final Clash Begins
He surged forward, blade cleaving arcs of inverted light. She countered with beams of righteous flame. The city became a battlefield of gods and mistakes — with mortals trapped beneath.
Every collision cracked the sky.
And as Shen pushed further, Nihriel's halo began to fracture.
But he was burning too.
Void energy tore at his body — too unstable.
[Chain One Active – Time Remaining: 2 minutes]
He knew it.
This was a borrowed power.
And when the time ran out, he'd fall.
Unless…
Behind him, Nyxria screamed, her arms extended toward the sky.
The Bloomroot core pulsed through her, opening a gate between timelines — between echoes of the world.
And from it came… a memory.
Of Aeris.
Chapter Ending
As the divine enforcer raised her final attack, Shen whispered:
"Don't take her from me again."
He lunged.
Void met judgment.
And the chapter ends.