The scream of the faceless child echoed even after it vanished.
The floor beneath their feet was trembling, the temple's black-glass foundation fracturing with every heartbeat. High above them, the ceiling of stars parted, revealing a glimpse of the Celestial Gateways—the topmost layers of Swarnalok, where the gods held court in blinding light and judgmental silence.
"Something's waking," Naira whispered, tightening her grip on her blade.
"We've crossed a threshold. No turning back."
"Good," Astha said, summoning Ashvaanta again.
"Let them come."
---
The path forward was forged from ancient sky-stone—solidified wind once breathed by Vayu himself. As Astha, Luv, and Naira ascended the spiral passage, glowing glyphs lit their way—words not spoken in centuries.
As they reached the Gate of the Breathless Sky, Astha halted.
A figure stood alone beneath the gate. Robes white as moonlight. Skin like silver marble. A long polearm in hand.
No face. Only a sun-symbol etched in burning gold where the eyes should be.
"A Devalaya Guard," Naira whispered.
"Swarnalok's last-judgment warriors."
"They weren't supposed to wake unless a god's life was in danger," Luv muttered.
"Then I guess the gods finally noticed," Astha said, stepping forward.
---
The Devalaya Guard moved like wind—not air, not speed, but absence of delay. His polearm sliced toward Astha in a blink. Astha parried, but the force sent him skidding back, boots cracking the marble.
Luv charged from behind, his armor glowing with stormlight. The guard raised a palm and redirected lightning mid-air, turning it to smoke.
"That's... not thunder magic," Luv said, surprised.
"He's using Sun-Touch techniques," Naira gasped.
"Forbidden light bending. Taught only to gods."
The guard unleashed a beam of condensed sunlight. It carved a crater into the staircase, forcing all three to scatter.
---
Astha spun Smritidhaara around his arm, anchoring it to a broken pillar. He launched himself forward, dragging Ashvaanta through the air. The sword pulsed, igniting with new power—sparked by the Divine Shard fused into his soul.
His strike wasn't a cut.
It was rejection.
"I don't need your light."
He severed the polearm in two.
Luv followed, crashing down with a fist that shattered the guard's chestplate. Naira's blade pierced the core, twisting through the divine symbols etched in his ribs.
The guard collapsed in silence—his body disintegrating into golden ash, his final words burned into the air:
"The Seat of Judgment… awaits you."
---
The stairs above crumbled away, replaced by a bridge of light-threads, each one woven from divine vows.
Astha didn't hesitate.
They walked in silence.
At the end of the bridge loomed the Citadel of the Gods—a city suspended in skyfire. Towering spires curved like ivory tusks, and beneath them hung colossal bells forged from promises broken by mortals.
And at the center, upon a floating dais, sat the Council of Radiance—
Not full gods.
But their Voices.
Vessels. Hosts. Intercessors.
The Divine Mouths that speak when the true gods choose silence.
---
One of them stood—robes made of cloud, a third eye seared shut on their brow.
"Ashes of Deva," the Voice said.
"You've defiled holy ground. You've broken seals. You've awakened relics better left forgotten."
Astha stepped forward.
Ashvaanta floated beside him, and Smritidhaara dripped red flame.
"I've done worse," he said.
"And I'm just getting started."
"You threaten the balance," the Voice warned.
"You stand on the edge of divine war."
"Then push me off," Astha snarled.
"Let's see who burns first."
---
But before any more words could be exchanged, the sky cracked.
Every head turned upward.
From above the heavens… a sound. Like weeping, but inverted. Cold. Vast. Empty.
A ripple in existence itself.
The Voices recoiled. One clutched their throat, eyes wide.
"What… is that?" Luv asked.
"It's not a god," Naira murmured.
"It's something beyond even them."
Astha narrowed his eyes.
Far, far above—hidden beyond the weave of divine realms—he sensed it. A presence that even the gods feared.
And it whispered a single word:
"Soon."