: The Void Seraph Awakens

Chapter 8

Darkness moved.

Not as shadow, not as night—but as will.

In the distant reaches of Zephyrium's forbidden quadrant, where even ancient maps dared not chart, the Hollow Spire cracked open like an egg of obsidian. Something stirred within the fracture. Not born. Not summoned. Unsealed.

The Void Seraph.

Once a god's executioner. Now a weapon of the Council of the Eye.

Its wings were made of mirror shards and broken prayers. Its face was a smooth plate of onyx, reflecting no light. Beneath its robes of torn silence, a thousand runes flickered — each representing a soul it had erased.

"The Echo stirs," came the Council's whisper. "Burn what remains."

And so, the Seraph flew.

Meanwhile: Nezutsu's Return

The portal rippled as Nezutsu stepped through.

The air felt denser on the other side. Real. Cold. Sharp.

He emerged not into the ruins of Caldrith Nohr, but a dense forest of black trees and glowing crimson leaves. A leyline forest — a living reservoir of wild mana.

"I didn't land where I left," he muttered.

Behind him, the portal sealed itself with a sound like thunder breathing.

He had no map. No allies. No idea where Velgrim had gone.

But inside his chest burned a rhythm — steady, deliberate, powerful.

And in his hand, he now carried a new mark: a symbol etched in glowing red, not made of ink but pure will. It resembled a broken crown.

"What is this?"

The Witness's voice echoed faintly.

"The Crown of Refusal. It marks you as one who broke fate."

"That explains nothing."

A rustle from the trees.

A girl stepped out.

White hair. A cloak of feathers. Eyes glowing gold.

She aimed a staff at his heart.

"You're not supposed to be here."

"Neither are you," Nezutsu replied.

She lowered the staff just a little.

"You're... the Flame, aren't you? The Ashless One."

"Who wants to know?"

"My name is Kaelith. I serve the Sealed One beneath the Sky Root."

"Cool title. Sounds cult-y."

"You're marked, Nezutsu. That means you're being hunted. Come with me if you want to live."

He blinked. "Did you just quote an old holofilm?"

Kaelith didn't smile. "No. I read your future."

And with that, the sky broke.

Above the Leyline Forest

The Void Seraph descended.

Reality warped around it. Birds turned to ash. Leaves screamed.

Kaelith gasped. "They sent a Seraph?! That's a god-tier hunter!"

Nezutsu raised a hand. "Then we run."

"No," Kaelith said, forming a glyph in midair. "We hide. This forest bends to old blood. And your blood is ancient."

She slashed her palm and smeared the symbol across a black tree.

The bark melted, forming an arch.

"Inside. Now."

They jumped through.

The tree sealed behind them as the Seraph landed.

It hovered over the forest floor, motionless.

"Ashless One... you walk borrowed time."

It placed its hand on the ground.

A ripple of void mana spread outward, eating color, consuming shape. Trees fell into nothingness.

But the hiding place held.

For now.

Inside the Tree Sanctuary

They landed on soft moss. Beneath the tree lay a hollow sanctuary, lit by veins of wild mana.

Nezutsu collapsed.

Kaelith sat beside him.

"You're shaking."

"I saw myself kill gods. I saw myself die. Now I have no idea who I am."

"You're a thread that fate missed."

"...That doesn't help."

Kaelith smirked. "Then sleep. Answers wait in dreams, too."

As Nezutsu closed his eyes, he whispered:

"Why do I feel like the whole world is lying to me?"

Kaelith didn't answer.

But in her palm, a glyph began to glow. A watcher rune.

Someone else was listening.

Far away, beyond even gods.

[TO BE CONTINUED...]