chapter 13
Chapter 13 – When the Gods Look Down
"You stole her back. Now let's see what they'll try to steal from you."
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The Descent
It began with a second sunrise.
The world trembled—not from war, not from weather—but from the arrival of something above consequence.
A streak of gold tore across the sky like a divine sword unsheathed.
Every priest fell silent.
Every altar cracked.
Even Fellchain whispered in Kaien's mind:
"You are seen."
He stood, still weak, his body shaking from the Mirrordepth ordeal. Riven sat near him, alive but dazed, wrapped in a stolen cloak.
Then—
The light landed.
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The Walking Divinity
She was tall. Hair like shifting constellations. Eyes that held galaxies that remembered you.
No wings. No armor.
Just barefoot steps across the dirt like the world had no choice but to hold her up.
She smiled.
"Kaien Valis. The name that bleeds across timelines. I am Elyra—the First Gazer."
Kaien narrowed his eyes. "You're one of them."
"A god?" she mused. "No. I'm the one they send when something frightens them."
She looked at Riven. "You pulled her back."
Kaien stood tall despite the pain. "I did."
She stepped closer. "How?"
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A Dangerous Question
Kaien gripped Fellchain.
"You think I'll tell you?"
Elyra smiled wider. "No. I think… you don't know."
The ground fractured beneath her feet, and reality bent just from her proximity.
"The chain is cursed. The name you carry isn't yours. And yet—you did it. You plucked a soul from the Mirrordepth, something even the Thrones have never dared."
Kaien's voice was steel. "So what? You here to erase me?"
"No," Elyra said softly.
"I'm here to offer you a seat among them."
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The Unthinkable Offer
The wind stopped. Time stilled.
Even Riven gasped.
Kaien's fingers tensed. "You want me to join the same monsters who let her be erased?"
Elyra tilted her head. "And if you refuse?"
Kaien lifted Fellchain—and for the first time, it roared like a living thing.
"I won't become another coward in the sky."
His aura ignited again—not from fury…
But clarity.
And Elyra's smile cracked.
"You are dangerous," she whispered.
Kaien stepped forward, his eyes burning.
"No."
"I'm the beginning."
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The Warning
Elyra's body blurred, vanishing into the winds—but not before one final echo reached him:
"Then you leave us no choice. The next god won't speak. It will strike."
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Aftermath
Riven looked at him—trembling, half-afraid, half in awe.
Kaien exhaled.
"Let them come."
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