Chapter 44 – The Blade That Turned From Heaven
They left Sanctum Arkenne at dawn.
The revelations from the Divine Choir haunted Jean like a second shadow. Whitney moved beside her in silence, his great paws quiet even on marble.
"The gods won't guide us anymore," Cassien muttered. "So what now?"
Jean didn't answer. She was already thinking of the next step—the other Emissaries.
Celeste had told her once: You are not the only one who bears my siblings' light.
But she hadn't imagined that the first she'd meet would be him.
His name was whispered by those who studied forbidden histories.
Orion Caelum—Emissary of the God of Order. Former Grandmaster of the Aurora Blades. Once hailed as the Heavenly Spear. Now known only by his exile and his title:
The Fallen Star.
They found him in the Ruins of Caravel, a broken city once swallowed by flame in the first Dragon War. Now it was dust and silence.
Jean stepped through a crumbling colonnade, Luxclade drawn. Whitney flanked her. Cassien remained back, crossbow ready.
He was waiting for them.
A tall man, dressed in gray robes worn thin by wind and years, stood beside a broken statue. His eyes were closed. A silver glaive leaned against the stone.
"I felt your light from the moment you entered the valley," he said. "Celeste's little spark."
Jean's grip tightened. "You're Orion."
He opened his eyes—pale silver, rimmed with fatigue and knowledge. "And you've come to ask why we fight."
"I've come to ask why you stopped."
Orion chuckled softly. "Because I realized the war isn't against dragons. It's against the gods who gave us this burden and walked away."
Jean didn't flinch. "You abandoned your oath."
"I refused a lie."
He pointed his glaive toward the shattered city. "Caravel burned while the gods watched. I saved as many as I could… but no prayer reached the heavens."
Jean stepped forward. "So what do you do now?"
Orion looked at her with a hint of sorrow. "I watch. I warn. And if necessary—I stop those who think they can change the world by swinging a divine blade."
Whitney growled.
Jean raised Luxclade. "Then we're already enemies."
Orion nodded slowly, taking his glaive.
"Let's see if your light can stand against the dark."
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