🪐 1. THE SKY CRACKS
Three days after the Vault, the skies above Sol'Zareth split in half. A celestial fracture—jagged and glowing—tore through the clouds.
From it descended a being of light, faceless, wrapped in golden chains.Elarion, the Herald of the Divine Accord.
He spoke in a voice that echoed through every soul in the wastelands.
"Mira of Ashara… You have awakened power forbidden. You have slain one of the Keepers. The gods have taken notice."
Kaen reached for his weapon. Mira stepped in front of him, her flames low but steady.
"Then let them watch. I have nothing to hide."
"No," Elarion said. "But the gods have something to prove."
Above, twelve more lights shined — gods or their champions — descending one by one.
🏛️ 2. THE DIVINE TRIAL
Mira and Kaen were taken — not in chains, but in blinding light — to the Celestial Hall of Judgement. Floating above the clouds, ringed by massive statues of old deities.
In the center: a circle of thrones.Each one held a god.Each one wore a mask.
Velnara, goddess of mercy, who wept molten gold.
Virex, god of balance, whose face was a scale.
Tharuun, god of death, who never spoke.
And more — all watching.
Elarion announced:
"Ashara broke the divine accord. Mira continues her path. Now she must be judged."
Mira didn't flinch.
"Then judge me."
🔥 3. THE GODS' QUESTION
Each god spoke once. Their words twisted with power.
Velnara: "Would you burn a city to save a child?"
Virex: "Is a flame with no limit still justice?"
Tharuun: (silence)
Mira answered every question without fear.
"I would burn lies. Not innocence.""I am not Ashara. I choose who I save."
Then Tharuun stood.
He raised a skeletal hand — and pointed.
"Then face the one who remembers Ashara best."
The chamber dimmed.The air grew cold.From the shadows emerged a woman in soul armor.
Seris, Ashara's former Bladekeeper. Now the gods' enforcer.
⚔️ 4. MIRA VS. SERIS
Seris drew a divine glaive. Its edge shimmered with memoryfire — flame that burned not the body, but one's history.
"If you are truly not Ashara," Seris said, "you will survive this."
Mira nodded, summoning her twin blades.
The fight erupted — no crowd, no mercy.
Glaive against dual flame.
Sparks lit the celestial clouds.
Every strike pulled memories from Mira's past life.
She saw visions — Ashara laughing, crying, begging the gods to spare mortals.And Seris… turning away.
"You were her sister," Mira said mid-battle. "You betrayed her."
Seris flinched — just enough.
Mira struck.
A final clash — and Seris was defeated, not dead… but shattered.
🌠 5. THE GODS' VERDICT
The chamber trembled. The gods murmured among themselves.
Elarion stood.
"You have passed. But your path is not forgiven."
Virex raised his hand.
"She is no longer Ashara… but she is also no longer mortal."
Velnara wept again.
"Let her flame warn the heavens."
Mira turned to Kaen.
"We're free?"
"No," Elarion said. "You are marked."
A brand appeared on Mira's back — the Sigil of Watching.
"The gods will follow you now. So will their enemies."
🕯️ 6. BACK TO ASHES
Returned to the world below, Mira stared at the night sky. The fracture above remained — pulsing slowly.
"You okay?" Kaen asked.
"No. But I'm alive," she said.
She looked at her blades.
"They're afraid. The gods. They fear what Ashara stood for. They fear what I might become."
Kaen smiled.
"Then let's make them really afraid."
The wind shifted. A presence stirred far beyond the east — something old, hungry, and waiting.
The gods weren't the only ones watching now.
🔥 TO BE CONTINUED...
End of Chapter 4 – Volume 2