Kael didn't move for a long time.
The sky above the shattered coliseum slowly stitched itself back together. Whatever breach the Godless Echo had opened was now sealed—but the scent of it still lingered. Not smoke. Not blood.
Memory.
Drayke crouched nearby, keeping watch while pretending not to care. "You gonna sit there forever, or are you gonna get stronger already?"
Kael spat out blood. "Funny. Thought you wanted the next round."
"Oh, I do. But not while you're looking like a crushed spirit core."
Lyra approached silently, her aura dim but warm. She knelt beside Kael and reached for him with glowing fingers. "Let me help."
Kael didn't pull away. For once.
The light poured into his wounds, closing gashes but not the pain in his core. That damage was deeper—spiritual. The kind that doesn't heal easy.
Zera spoke up from the ruins of the observation deck, where her cloak swayed like mist in wind. "He didn't kill you. That's not mercy. That's a declaration."
Kael glanced at her. "What do you mean?"
She looked down at him, eyes cold. "He saw you as potential. A rival. You're on a path now that only one being can walk at a time." She paused. "And there are already others."
[System Update: New Objective – Echo Trial Initiated]
Godless Path: Progress 1%
Next Trial Location: Zenith's Reach
Time Limit: 6 days
A cold wind swept through the broken city as the announcement echoed in Kael's mind. He stood shakily, gaze shifting toward the horizon.
Zenith's Reach.
One of the seven regions of Aurenya—untouched by most due to its sheer altitude and unpredictable aura storms. It was said only one guild, Skyburn, operated there—and even they rarely left the floating citadel that guarded the peak.
Drayke whistled. "Figures. Trial to become a god? Gotta start by climbing one."
Kael didn't smile.
Because it wasn't just a trial.
It was the beginning of war.
Back at the edge of the ruins, hunters began to regroup. The broadcast of Kael defeating an Eternal had spread already—guild leaders, nobles, rogue sects—they all saw it.
And now they wanted answers.
Or blood.
But Kael had no time to entertain any of them.
As the group moved to leave, Lyra spoke up, softly. "What happens when we get there?"
Kael didn't look back.
"I find the next Echo."
"And if you fail?"
Kael clenched his fist, ash swirling around him.
"I won't."
Elsewhere – Deep beneath the sands of Duskar Wastes
A chained beast stirred.
Its eyes opened—red, ancient, furious.
The chains began to crack.
And across the desert, a tower that had not fallen in a thousand years began to burn from the inside.
A voice whispered:
"Another has entered the path. Prepare the rites."