Chapter 26: The Fall of Heaven
1. The Heavens Stir
In the celestial halls of the Pantheon, the gods stood in silence.
The Rift had awakened.
The Ashen King had defied them, wounded their champion, and unleashed a force that should not exist. And now, the Supreme God himself had risen.
"This ends now."
His voice was not loud, yet it echoed through every realm. The other gods—beings of unimaginable power—bowed as his golden gaze burned through the layers of reality.
He lifted his hand, and the Divine Mandate was set.
The full power of the Pantheon would descend upon the Ashen King.
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2. War Beyond Mortality
Back in Eldoria, the sky was breaking.
The rift that the Ashen King had torn open churned violently, abyssal energy colliding with celestial light. Caelum, the High Arbiter, had regained his footing, his wounds knitting together as divine energy surged through his veins. But even he hesitated as something else stirred within the Rift.
And then they came.
The Pantheon's Vanguard.
They descended from the heavens like falling stars—gods of war, judgment, and destruction. Twelve celestial champions, each one a being of unimaginable might, their mere presence sending tremors through the world.
At their head was Oris, the Spear of the Heavens—a titan draped in radiant armor, wielding a weapon that had ended entire civilizations.
Oris leveled his spear at the Ashen King.
"You have gone too far, Riftborn," he declared. "There is no place for you in this world."
The Ashen King smirked.
"I wasn't asking for a place."
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3. The Clash of Titans
The battle began without warning.
Oris lunged, his spear tearing through space itself. The Ashen King sidestepped, raising a hand as abyssal tendrils erupted from the ground. But Oris twisted mid-air, severing them in a single stroke.
Another god struck from behind—a being of pure light, wielding a blade forged from divine radiance. The Ashen King caught the blade with his bare hand.
Light and darkness clashed, creating a shockwave that obliterated the remains of Eldoria's palace.
Seraphina and Kallista barely had time to react as the celestial vanguard pressed forward.
The battlefield became a maelstrom of gods and monsters.
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4. Seraphina Unleashed
A god wreathed in flames descended upon Seraphina, his sword burning with the essence of a dying sun.
She snarled, her wings unfurling, and met his attack head-on.
Flame clashed against shadow, the sheer impact shaking the land. Seraphina twisted, her twin daggers slashing through divine armor, drawing celestial ichor.
The god stumbled.
Seraphina drove her blade through his chest.
For the first time in eons, a god screamed in pain.
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5. Kallista's Stand
Kallista found herself surrounded.
Three celestial warriors bore down on her, their weapons shimmering with divine judgment. She knew she could not overpower them.
So she outmaneuvered them.
Using her incredible speed, she weaved between their attacks, redirecting their own strikes against one another. A sword meant for her impaled another god.
A golden spear was turned aside, striking a divine ally instead.
And then, with a single precise strike, Kallista severed the wing of a celestial warrior, sending them plummeting to the ground.
"Not so untouchable now, are you?" she sneered.
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6. The Ashen King Ascends
Oris and Caelum attacked as one, their combined power capable of destroying an entire realm.
The Ashen King did not move.
He absorbed the impact, abyssal energy surging around him, nullifying the divine power that should have erased him.
Oris's eyes widened. "What—"
The Ashen King struck.
His blow shattered Oris's spear, sending the celestial warrior reeling. Caelum's wings were torn asunder, his divine form flickering.
The Ashen King was evolving.
The Rift's power surged, his very presence warping reality.
"You cannot stop what has already begun," he said.
And then, the Supreme God arrived.
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7. The Wrath of the Pantheon
A golden light filled the battlefield.
Time froze.
The Ashen King turned—and for the first time, he felt it.
True divinity.
The Supreme God did not attack.
He spoke.
And reality obeyed.
"Begone."
A single word, and the Ashen King was erased from existence.
The world collapsed in on itself, the Rift shrieked, and everything turned to light.
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8. The Void's Answer
For a moment, there was nothing.
No light.
No sound.
No existence.
And then, something spoke.
"Do you think it's that easy?"
The Supreme God's eyes narrowed.
Darkness rippled across the heavens. The Rift opened once more, not by force, but by will.
And the Ashen King stepped out.
Untouched.
Unbroken.
And smiling.
"You call yourselves gods," he said. "But you forget…"
He lifted his hand.
And the Supreme God staggered.
For the first time in eternity…
A god felt fear.