Kael stood at the edge of the encampment, the rising moon casting long shadows across the battlefield. Behind him, the Beast Court—a mighty, ragtag collection of warlords, shamans, and legendary hunters—prepared for the march to the Celestial Walls.
He could feel the weight of their expectations. Their hopes. Their desperation. The Beastlord's Rebellion had been whispered of for eons, but now, it was no longer myth.
It was his future.
The ground trembled as the forces of the beast tribes stirred. Kael's shadow stretched, flickering unnaturally—a harbinger of change.
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A Legion Born of Shadows
Nyra approached Kael, her expression somber. "The Celestial Walls... they're not just walls, Kael. They're fortresses built on the bones of fallen gods. Every inch of that land is soaked in their blood."
Kael's eyes flicked toward her. "Let them bleed again."
Aeron grinned, drawing his twin blades. "The gods are about to learn the price of their arrogance."
But it wasn't arrogance that concerned Kael. It was the First Ascended, a being whispered about in forbidden tomes and legends. The Archons, the eternal keepers of celestial order, had released their ultimate weapon—a divine terror forged from the essence of a thousand worlds.
The First Ascended was no mere god, no divine champion. It was a living wrath, created to tear through entire armies in the name of order and control.
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Divine Echoes
The ground suddenly cracked beneath Kael's boots, the sky above him darkening as thunder rolled in from the east. The first signs of the Ascended's arrival were unmistakable: the Crimson Veil.
An unnatural storm of red lightning and shrieking winds tore through the horizon. Kael's shadows stirred, alert to the disturbance. The Beastlords halted, their warriors looking up in awe and terror.
"Are we… ready?" Nyra asked, her hand tightening around her spear.
Kael raised a hand, stilling the winds with his shadow. "I've lived in the shadows of gods for too long to fear them now."
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The Unleashing
Without warning, the First Ascended appeared.
The earth buckled as a towering, skeletal figure descended from the sky, its form wrapped in stormclouds and fire. Its wings were vast—dark and flickering with holy wrath. Eyes like twin suns glared down from its hollowed skull, its hands grasping a weapon forged from cosmic chaos.
It spoke, its voice booming across the land, shaking the heavens themselves.
"You… dare challenge the Order of the Eternal Pantheon?" The voice was an echo of thousands of voices, each laced with divine fury. "I am Varathis, the First Ascended. You will kneel, mortal."
Kael's shadow flared, his eyes burning with cold fury.
"No." His voice was low, but the sheer power of it made the air tremble. "I don't kneel."
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War of Shadows and Storms
In that moment, the battlefield became an inferno.
The First Ascended swung its blade—a slash of pure divine energy tore through the air. The Beastlords scattered, howling in fury, but Kael stood firm. Shadows stretched from him like tendrils, clashing against the divine power.
The air crackled as Kael summoned the Abyssal Chains, forging them from the very darkness of the world. They shot out, wrapping around Varathis' arm, dragging the First Ascended toward the earth.
But Varathis, with a roar, shattered the chains with a single pulse of celestial energy.
"You cannot bind what is eternal," Varathis thundered, the storm gathering strength around it.
Kael's lips twisted into a savage smile. "Then it's time for the eternal to face death."
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The Celestial War Begins
The battle was a clash of titans—Kael, fueled by the power of the Bone Accord and the Sovereign's chain, against Varathis, a being born from the gods' pure wrath. The shadow-drenched battlefield roared with the ferocity of war.
Aeron and Nyra fought alongside the Beastlords, each tribe struggling against the wrath of the First Ascended's storm. The winds were alive, twisted with divine energy that could rip apart entire cities.
But Kael was not alone in this fight.
From the shadows of the battlefield, the spirit-stag—bound to Kael's soul—rushed to his side, its antlers crackling with beastfire. The stag leaped toward the Ascended, but it was no mere attack. The stag's form blurred, melding with the very essence of shadow.
A roar echoed through the storm.
Kael seized the moment.
With a single motion, Kael reached out, grasping the shadow of Varathis and pulling it inward. A rending crack echoed through the heavens. The First Ascended faltered, its divine power waning.
Kael's eyes blazed with fury and purpose.
"Your time has passed, Ascended. This is the age of the forgotten."
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In the Skies Above
Above the chaos, the gods watched—silent and seething.
The Archon of Judgement, wings spread wide, narrowed his eyes. "This must be stopped. Now."
The Masked God, from his hidden throne, smiled beneath his cloak.
"It's too late," the Masked God said. "The shadows are awake. The past is returning."
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End of Chapter 41