The sky was no longer blue.
Not even broken.
It had become something else.
Above the fractured skyline of Swarnalok, strands of silver light and obsidian cracks stretched across reality. The Sealed Sky, once the last divine ward, had shattered in Chapter 30. Now, the cosmic canopy was exposed — and it was watching back.
Atop the ash-caked remains of the Council Spire, Astha stood with his black hoodie fluttering in windless air. The soulflame glyphs beneath his skin pulsed, reacting to a pressure he couldn't see… but could feel.
Not from this realm.
But from others.
"It's begun," Luv muttered beside him, arms crossed, his silver Indra armor humming with thunder-streaked heat. "They're coming."
Astha didn't answer. His eyes burned white. Not with rage.
With readiness.
---
Down below, Naira and the surviving Devic historians attempted to seal away the broken artifacts. But it was already too late.
One by one, rifts opened—clean cuts in the air, each reflecting different celestial styles.
From one came a golden feather, heavy with Olympian aura.
From another, a raven's wing—coated in northern chill.
And from the third… a laughing peach, bitten, and burning with fire.
"Three pantheons," Naira whispered.
"Greek, Norse, and Chinese."
They weren't invading yet.
They were watching.
Testing the air. Judging the flames.
---
Astha's summoned sword—Ashvaanta—remained embedded in the ground beside him. But suddenly it twitched, trembled, then let out a metallic growl.
"W-what was that?" Luv asked.
Astha knelt beside the blade.
Symbols lit up along the sword's surface—ancient scripts older than any known mantra.
"The blade remembers something," Astha said softly.
"It's warning me."
Luv turned toward the sky, eyes narrowing.
"Let them come. Let them try."
Thunder cracked in his iris.
---
Arrival of the First Envoy
The wind went still.
Then—music.
A low, golden hum, like lyres in a ruined palace.
From the Olympian Rift, a man stepped out.
Draped in robes spun from time, with sandals touching nothing, and a winged helmet gleaming with smugness. A staff of golden snakes curled at his side.
"Greetings, lawbreakers," said the voice, smooth as wine.
"I am Hermes, envoy of Olympus. Messenger of Zeus.
And I come… bearing judgment."
Astha stepped forward, cracking his knuckles.
"You came a long way," he muttered, summoning Ashvaanta into his grip without touching it.
"To die here."
Hermes laughed.
But his smile twitched.
"You killed a Herald of the Sealed Sky. That's impressive. But this—"
He gestured to the air.
"—this now concerns all pantheons. And unlike your gods, we don't forgive. We eliminate."
Luv flared lightning through his palms.
"Talk less," he said.
"Burn better."
---
First Divine Clash Begins
Hermes moved first—vanishing with a sonic boom.
Light-speed.
But Luv responded.
His Thunder Pulse Core activated, and he met Hermes' movement mid-air, lightning exploding in all directions. Their first clash cracked space in a straight line, a black gash stretching miles.
"He's fast," Luv grunted.
"But I'm faster now."
Astha didn't join.
Not yet.
He watched Hermes, watched the divine movement patterns, the ripple of light left behind like burnt silk.
"He's not just a messenger," Astha said.
"He's a test."
"A probe," Naira confirmed, rising from the ground.
"To measure if we're a threat."
"Then let's make sure they know we are."