Core of Wrath
Chapter 8: Core of Wrath
The Sanctuary Citadel had long stood as the last beacon of hope against the Silence, a sprawling bastion of glass towers, floating glyph-crystals, and protective barrier domes. Yet even its fortified walls trembled beneath the fear spreading like wildfire across the world.
War had ignited.
Kazuki sat with Aria under the glow of the Citadel's twin moons in the outer garden. They had survived countless battles, evolved beyond human limits, and discovered fragments of a past erased by time. But in this moment, they clung to a fragile peace.
Aria's laughter—soft, unburdened—brought a rare calm to Kazuki's soul.
"I don't know how you still laugh like that," he said, brushing a lock of her hair behind her ear.
"Because you fight like hell to make sure I can," she replied, leaning her head on his shoulder.
Unseen, eyes watched from the shadows.
---
The Violation
Elsewhere in the garden, cloaked by dimensional warps, Xereth of the Silence stepped through a thin slit of reality. His voice like dying winds echoed faintly through the air.
"She's the source of his restraint… break her, and he'll break himself."
He approached as Kazuki was summoned urgently by Daeon. Aria remained, admiring the starlight.
"You're Aria," Xereth whispered, materializing behind her.
She turned, heart clenching with instinctive terror.
"You shouldn't be here," she said. "This is hallowed ground."
Xereth's voice twisted. "Then let it be where a god is unmade."
He reached for her.
A glowing hand brushed her cheek.
In that instant—
---
Kazuki's Awakening
Across the compound, Kazuki stopped mid-step. He felt her pain.
His vision blurred.
A deep voice, his own voice but older, surged within: Let it out.
The world shattered.
A vortex of energy exploded from his core, creating a crater in the war room. Energy tendrils tore apart ceiling crystals. Air warped. Light flickered.
His eyes glowed violet-gold.
"ARIA!"
He vanished in an instant, reappearing above the garden in a beam of incandescent light.
---
Judgment Unleashed
Xereth held Aria by her throat, dark claws etched into her aura.
Then—
Boom.
Kazuki hit the ground like a meteor.
He didn't speak.
His aura exploded, taking on a shape—angelic wings made of pure Core fragments and horns of dark flame. His skin shimmered with ancient runes.
He was no longer just human. He was something primal.
He walked forward. Every step shattered stone.
Xereth turned. "Ah, the beast awakes."
Kazuki raised his hand.
"Die."
He unleashed Quantum Rift Spiral—a technique not seen in centuries. Xereth blocked, but the energy drilled through dimensions.
Kazuki disappeared again. This time, he struck Xereth from twenty angles simultaneously.
The sound was silence—deafening, cosmic.
Xereth staggered, shocked. "This… isn't… possible!"
Kazuki replied, "You touched what I love."
He activated Soulrend Slash, coating his blade with pure emotion and Core rage. The blade sang.
Xereth tried to escape through shadows.
Kazuki sliced through space itself.
In an explosion of light and void, Xereth was torn into a billion particles.
Not dead. Not destroyed.
Erased.
Every timeline where he existed, gone.
Kazuki dropped to his knees beside Aria.
She coughed, holding his hand.
"I knew you'd come," she whispered.
He placed his forehead against hers.
---
The Confession
"I would've destroyed this whole universe if he hurt you," Kazuki said.
"You nearly did," she whispered, tears falling.
"I don't want to wait anymore," he said. "I love you, Aria. I have since you lit that first flame in my heart when I thought I was nothing but a weapon."
She touched his face, smiling through her tears.
"You idiot. You think I didn't feel it every time you fought for me? I love you, too. More than fate, more than destiny."
He kissed her, slow and fierce, in a garden glowing with the light of rebirth.
---
Romantic Interlude – A Night for Hearts
Later that night, after the skies cleared and the energy fields around the garden were restored, Kazuki and Aria lay beneath the crystalline canopy. The air shimmered with bioluminescent petals from the moonlotus trees, and their glow danced across Aria's features like the whisper of dreams.
Kazuki turned to her, brushing her fingers gently.
"I never thought I'd have this," he said softly.
"This?"
"You. Peace. The space to feel... normal."
Aria chuckled. "We're far from normal. You literally erased a being from existence today."
"But here," he said, touching her chest, "I feel like nothing else matters."
She rolled onto her side, facing him. Her eyes shimmered with quiet wonder. "Then let's make it matter. Let's not wait for the next war, the next death. Tonight, we're not soldiers. Not gods. Just us."
He leaned in and kissed her again, deeper this time, with a slow tenderness that carried years of longing.
Their fingers entwined as they lay in silence. Kazuki traced the lines of her palm, learning the language of her body.
"I memorized every scar you've earned," he said. "Each one, a story. And I love every one."
"And I know every line of sorrow behind your smile," she whispered. "And I've loved you through each one."
They kissed again. Time bent around them—not from their powers, but from their presence.
Hours passed like seconds. They laughed, held each other, and spoke of dreams they'd never dared to imagine.
Aria placed her forehead against his. "Promise me something."
"Anything."
"No matter what happens—win or lose—don't stop choosing love. Don't forget this night."
Kazuki pulled her close, his voice steady. "This night will be my anchor, even in eternity."
They slept in each other's arms beneath the stars, as twin moons watched from above. And though the war continued beyond the horizon, here, love had carved a world of its own.
---
Fallout
In the Void Citadel, the Null One felt Xereth's absence.
"Balance breaks," it hissed. "And in the fracture, truth shall rise."
Elsewhere, hidden agents stirred. A masked girl with golden eyes whispered, "He's awakened. Then I will test his heart."
---
To be continued in Chapter 9: The Silence Rebellion