volume 1 chapter 25 The rise of Thalzir

The ritual chamber was quiet now, save for the low thrum of power vibrating through the stone beneath Kael's feet. The cultists remained kneeling, unmoving, as if the weight of what had occurred had paralyzed them in reverence—or fear.

In the air above the ritual circle, the man known as Uno floated still, his body slack like a puppet with its strings cut. But the light within him... it was wrong. Too vast. Too ancient.

It pulsed once.

Then twice.

Then… a breath.

Uno's form twitched. His eyes opened, glowing with a shifting galaxy of violet and black. Stars swirled in his pupils. When he spoke, his voice was layered—echoing not just in the room but in Kael's mind.

"It has been a long silence."

Kael stepped forward, heart hammering in his chest despite the reverence he tried to display.

"My lord… Thal'Zir. Hollow Star. Boundless One. You have returned, as prophesied."

A beat of silence passed.

Then, a chuckle. Low. Cold. Timeless.

"Prophesied…" The voice rolled like a celestial tide. "As if mortals ever truly understood what they invoked."

Kael's hands trembled, but he bowed low. "We studied the fragments. The Starlit Codex, the Whispered Glyphs. I spent decades piecing it together. The bloodline, the seals, the moons—all led to Uno. The vessel."

The being tilted Uno's head, as if testing the shape of the body, the weight of the soul still echoing within. When it next spoke, there was a sharpness in it.

"You call me god. You call me star. Do you know what I was, Kael?"

Kael's breath caught. "You… were Auren'Kael. Warden of Starlight."

A silence.

Then, soft laughter again—almost nostalgic.

"Yes. Once, I lit the skies with justice. I was the guardian of cosmic balance. But justice is a concept the heavens wield like a blade when it suits them. When I questioned their judgment, they branded me traitor. Cast me out."

Kael dared raise his gaze. "They feared your power."

"No," Thal'Zir said. "They feared my truth."

The chamber grew darker, the stars in Uno's eyes flaring.

"They chose order over understanding. Control over growth. So I fell—not from grace, but from obedience. And in falling… I became something greater."

He gestured with a hand—Uno's hand—and the ritual circle below cracked, light bleeding up into the air like spilled stardust.

"I descended into the realm between realms. The void beyond the constellations. There, I saw the truth: light and dark are not opposites. They are twins, estranged and forced into conflict by those who benefit from war."

Kael stared, enraptured. "Then it's as I believed. The gods were wrong to exile you."

"They are not gods." The voice sharpened. "They are tyrants who wear divinity like a crown. I will show them what they forgot. I will unmake their illusions."

Kael nodded. "That's why we brought you back. The world is lost in their lies. With you… we can reshape it."

Thal'Zir tilted Uno's head again, this time with a sliver of curiosity.

"You believe you control this outcome?"

Kael stiffened. "N-no, I—I serve. Whatever your will is—"

The floating form descended. Bare feet touched the ground. The chamber cracked beneath the pressure of Thal'Zir's presence. He stepped forward, and Kael sank to one knee.

"You summoned me, Kael. But you did not create me. And you cannot leash me."

Kael swallowed. "Of course, my lord. I only wish to be your voice in this world."

Thal'Zir paused, staring at him for a long, chilling moment.

Then he said, simply:

"You already were."

And with that, Kael screamed—his voice twisting, reshaping—as his body convulsed and burned with runic light. His soul, marked long ago, was claimed. Not by fire. Not by shadow.

By starlight.

By void.