The night fell unnaturally still.
Kael stood upon the edge of the fractured plains, his eyes tracing the horizon where the world met the remnants of heaven's light. The sky shimmered with strange colors—crimson and silver streaks threading through the darkness, as if reality itself held its breath.
He knew this silence. It was not peace. It was the calm before judgment.
Behind him, Lyra approached quietly, her steps soft over the scorched earth. "You can feel it too," she said, her voice low.
Kael nodded. "The gods have taken notice. They've sent something… or someone."
Before Lyra could speak again, the air split open with a sound like shattering glass.
A pillar of golden light crashed into the earth before them, shaking the ground so violently that even the chains wrapped around Kael rattled. When the light faded, a figure emerged—tall, regal, and terrible.
Feathers of molten gold shimmered from its shoulders. Its face was carved perfection, its eyes glowing with the brilliance of ten suns. A sword of pure radiance hung from its grasp, singing with celestial energy.
"Kael of the Abyss," the being said, voice echoing like a thousand bells. "You have declared yourself a god. The Pantheon demands proof."
Kael's lips curled into a faint smile. "Proof? Or permission?"
The being's wings flared, scattering burning feathers across the sky. "There is no god without the trial of divinity. Fail—and you will be erased, along with the shadow that clings to your soul."
Lyra moved in front of Kael, defiant. "You'd kill him because he survived what none of you could control?"
The emissary's eyes softened slightly as they fell upon her. "You speak of mercy, mortal. But mercy is not the concern of gods."
Kael stepped forward, his hand brushing Lyra's shoulder gently as he moved past her. His voice was calm, almost cold. "Then let your gods see what happens when mercy and power meet."
He raised his hand. The chains uncoiled from his arms, glowing with that eerie blend of starlight and abyssal dark. The air trembled—the ground beneath his feet fracturing, reality bending as his power surged.
The emissary lunged, its radiant blade descending like a sunburst. Kael met it with his bare hand.
The explosion of force split the clouds. Light and shadow collided, screaming against each other, each vying for dominion. Kael was thrown back—but the moment he touched the ground, his chains lashed upward, striking like serpents.
They coiled around the emissary's wings, dragging it down. But the divine being only smiled.
"Impressive," it said, breaking free in a burst of light. "But divinity is not strength alone. It is mastery over what you are."
Kael roared, unleashing the abyssal energy within him. Darkness surged like a tidal wave, swallowing the plains. Yet within that blackness, stars began to glow—hundreds, thousands, burning brighter than ever before.
The emissary halted mid-strike, its expression shifting from arrogance to awe. "You… forged light within the Abyss."
Kael's voice boomed across the trembling world. "Because I am both! I am not the god you built, nor the monster you feared. I am the bridge between what was lost—and what must be reborn!"
His chains shot forward, spearing through the air. The emissary's sword shattered. Light scattered into the wind like embers.
When silence finally fell, Kael stood over the kneeling emissary, breathing hard but unbroken.
The divine being lowered its head. "You have passed the First Trial, Kael of the Chains. The gods will not ignore you now."
And with that, it dissolved into light, vanishing into the heavens.
Lyra ran to Kael's side, her eyes wide. "What happens next?"
Kael looked toward the darkened horizon, his expression unreadable. "Next," he said quietly, "the gods themselves will come."
The wind howled through the ruins, carrying the faint echo of unseen voices—half in worship, half in warning.