chapter 20: Defying the divine

Kael's body screamed in protest, but he didn't stop. His grip on Solmara tightened as he lunged forward, his heart hammering like a war drum.

He had faced kings. He had battled beasts. But now, he fought the will of the gods themselves.

Seraphine thrashed in the Arbiter's grasp, her golden eyes filled with pain. The celestial bindings pulsed around her, constricting tighter with each passing second. She let out a strangled cry, and something inside Kael snapped.

With a roar, he swung Solmara in a brutal arc. The sword ignited with silver-blue flames, cutting through the air in a streak of raw power. Steel met divine fire. The impact sent a shockwave tearing through the ruins.

The Arbiter staggered.

Kael pressed forward, striking again, this time with more fury, more desperation. He had to break through.

But the Arbiter was impossibly fast.

It dodged effortlessly, its form flickering between physical and ethereal, as if it existed in multiple realities at once. Then it countered—a blinding strike of golden fire.

Kael barely had time to react. He raised Solmara, but the force of the blow sent him crashing to the ground. The pain was immediate, fire licking at his skin, searing through his armor.

The Arbiter loomed over him, its voice ringing like a celestial bell. "You do not understand what you have done."

Kael gritted his teeth, struggling to rise. "I understand perfectly." His voice was hoarse but unyielding. "I chose her."

The Arbiter's expression remained impassive, but its grip on Seraphine tightened.

She gasped, her body convulsing as golden light bled from her skin.

Kael's stomach dropped. It was trying to unmake her.

"No!" He pushed himself up, ignoring the agony that tore through his limbs. He wouldn't let them take her. He wouldn't let fate erase her.

Then—a pulse of energy erupted from within him.

It was not just his power. It was something deeper. Something ancient.

The ruins trembled as a wave of silver-blue energy burst outward, slamming into the Arbiter. For the first time—it faltered.

Kael barely had time to process what happened before he felt it.

A presence.

Something beyond the gods.

A deep, shuddering whisper filled the air. "He is not yours to judge, Arbiter."

The Arbiter turned sharply, its divine fire flickering. Even it looked… wary.

A figure stepped forward from the shadows of the ruins, their form shrouded in darkness and light. A Seer.

But not just any Seer.

The First Oracle.

The First Oracle's Intervention

Kael's breath caught as the figure moved into the dim light of the ruins. He had heard the legends—stories of a Seer who had existed since the first prophecy was spoken. A being beyond mortal comprehension.

Their presence commanded reality itself.

The Arbiter turned to the Oracle, its divine fire flickering uncertainly. "You interfere where you should not."

The Oracle's gaze did not waver. Their voice was quiet, yet it carried the weight of eternity. "The boy has broken the prophecy, yes. But what if the prophecy was flawed to begin with?"

A crackle of tension filled the air.

Kael's heart pounded. What did that mean?

The Arbiter's form wavered, its celestial fire pulsing erratically. "Fate is infallible."

The Oracle took a step forward. "Is it?"

A silence stretched between them—deep, unyielding.

Then, without warning, the Oracle raised a single hand. And the sky shattered.

The storm clouds above ripped apart, revealing a swirling void of stars and light. Time itself seemed to pause.

The Oracle turned to Kael, their gaze unreadable. "Do you wish to change fate?"

Kael's throat was dry. His mind raced with everything that had led him here—all the pain, all the sacrifices, all the moments where he had been told his path was already written.

But he had made his choice.

His fingers curled around Solmara. He looked at Seraphine—his reason, his love.

Then he met the Oracle's gaze.

"Yes."

The Oracle nodded once. "Then prepare yourself, warrior."

They turned back to the Arbiter. "You are dismissed."

The Arbiter recoiled as if struck. "You cannot—"

But it was too late.

With a single word, the Oracle unmade the divine bindings.

Seraphine fell—straight into Kael's arms.

And the Arbiter—was gone.

The Prophecy Rewritten

Kael held Seraphine close, his heart racing. She was still weak, but her golden eyes met his with fierce determination.

"Did we win?" she whispered.

Kael exhaled. "I don't know."

The Oracle watched them, their gaze unreadable. "You have defied fate, but fate does not break so easily."

Kael's fingers tightened around Solmara. "Then what now?"

The Oracle tilted their head. "Now, the gods will come themselves."

A chill ran down Kael's spine.

This wasn't over.

It was only the beginning.