Chapter 22: The first of the gods

The valley was silent.

Kael stood at the edge of a battlefield not yet stained with blood, his fingers tightening around Solmara's hilt. His breath was steady, but his pulse thundered in his ears. The world had changed. He could feel it in the air, taste it in the metallic weight of destiny pressing down upon him.

And then, from the space between time and eternity, it appeared.

At first, it was only light—brilliant, golden, endless. But as the glow faded, a figure stood at the heart of it, its form shifting between flesh and divinity, as though the very laws of existence strained to contain it.

A god.

Not an Arbiter, nor a lesser servant of the celestial realms. This was one of the First. One of the ancient beings who had shaped the world before mortals had taken their first breath.

Kael had expected power. But standing before this god, he realized power was too small a word.

The god's eyes burned like molten stars, its presence stretching into every shadow. It did not speak. It did not move.

It simply existed.

And that alone made the world tremble.

Seraphine stiffened beside him. Kael could hear her breathing—shallow, tense. He wanted to tell her to step back, but he knew better.

This was his fight.

The Oracle remained still, their expression unreadable. Finally, the god turned its gaze to Kael.

"You are the one who defied fate."

Its voice was both a whisper and a storm, curling through the air like fire and thunder. The weight of it pressed down on Kael's very soul.

He met the god's gaze and did not look away. "I made a choice."

The god tilted its head, a movement so eerily slow it was almost inhuman.

"A choice," it echoed. "Do you believe you have that right?"

Kael's grip on Solmara tightened. "I do now."

The god took a single step forward. The ground cracked beneath its foot.

"Foolish."

Kael braced himself as the air grew heavier. The god's presence alone threatened to bend the fabric of reality.

Seraphine's voice was barely a whisper. "Kael—"

"I know," he murmured.

He knew.

He was about to fight a god.

A Battle Beyond Mortals

The god did not move.

Not at first.

And then, in an instant, it struck.

Kael barely saw it. A blur of golden fire and divine might, moving faster than thought. He raised Solmara on instinct.

The collision shook the heavens.

A shockwave exploded outward, sending Kael skidding across the battlefield. His boots carved deep trenches into the earth as he fought to stay upright.

The god had not even drawn a weapon.

It watched him, studying, waiting.

Kael exhaled, shaking the numbness from his arms. If Solmara hadn't taken the brunt of that blow, he would already be dead.

The god spoke again. "You persist."

Kael lifted his sword. "I tend to do that."

The golden fire around the god flared.

And then it attacked again.

Kael moved.

Faster than he ever had. Faster than was humanly possible. Solmara guided him, pulling him into a rhythm that was not his own—as if the blade remembered battles fought against beings like this.

The god struck, and Kael dodged.

The god struck again, and Kael countered.

The valley became a battlefield of fire and steel.

Each impact of Solmara against the god's form sent shockwaves through the ground. Each move Kael made was guided by something beyond him.

Seraphine and the Oracle stood frozen at the edge of the battlefield, unable to intervene. This was beyond them.

This was beyond anything mortal.

Kael lunged, Solmara flashing like a star—

And this time, he struck true.

The blade bit into divine flesh.

The god staggered.

For the first time, it bled.

And for the first time, Kael saw something in its burning gaze.

Not pain.

Surprise.

The Awakening of Solmara

The moment the blade tasted divine blood, something changed.

Solmara shuddered in Kael's grip. The metal pulsed, energy coursing through it like a living thing. Something ancient, something powerful, something waiting, awoke.

The god lifted its gaze, its fire flickering. "That weapon should not exist."

Kael barely had time to react before the air bent around him.

The god raised its hand, and the world shattered.

A raw, golden force slammed into Kael, sending him hurtling backward. The ground crumbled beneath him as he crashed into the valley floor, pain lancing through his ribs.

His vision blurred. He could hear Seraphine screaming his name, but he couldn't move. His body refused to obey.

The god approached, towering over him. "You wield a power beyond mortals. A weapon not meant for you."

Kael coughed, blood staining his lips. But he still smirked. "Then why am I still breathing?"

The god's golden eyes darkened.

"You will not be for long."

It lifted its hand—

And Solmara roared.

A pulse of energy erupted from the sword, forcing the god back.

Kael gasped, air rushing back into his lungs. His body was weak, but the sword… the sword was stronger than ever.

A whisper echoed in the back of his mind.

"Rise."

And he did.

His legs trembled, but he forced himself upright. The blade burned in his grip, not with fire, but with something darker.

Older.

The god narrowed its eyes. "Impossible."

Kael smiled. "Guess you underestimated me."

He lunged—

And the battle truly began.

The Breaking of a God

The sky tore open.

Kael and the god clashed again and again, divine light against an ancient blade, each impact sending shockwaves that cracked the land itself.

But this time, Kael was not losing.

Solmara cut through golden fire.

Kael dodged what should have been undodgeable. Countered what should have been unstoppable.

And then, in a single breathless moment—

He buried Solmara in the god's chest.

The valley fell silent.

The god looked down, its flames flickering wildly. It had been wounded. Truly.

Kael twisted the blade. "Still think fate is unbreakable?"

The god did not answer. It fell.

Golden fire rushed outward, swallowing the battlefield—

And then, all at once, it vanished.

Kael gasped for air, his body screaming in exhaustion.

Seraphine was at his side in an instant, grabbing his arm. "You're alive."

He let out a weak chuckle. "Yeah. Somehow."

The Oracle approached, their expression unreadable. "You do not understand what you have done."

Kael wiped blood from his lip. "Enlighten me."

The Oracle's gaze was sharp.

"You did not just wound a god."

"You declared war on them."

And with those words, Kael's fate was sealed.