Chapter 18 – The Hunt and the Praise
Previously:
Rolland and Jassel were revealed to be mere puppets created by Maxcen. The death of Enver and Zephyr's parents was part of a grand scheme woven by the entity. The Hellseer Council, feeling betrayed by fate and time, decided that both Enver and Zephyr must be stopped—sealed or erased. Maxcen's power had begun to awaken… through blood, belief, and betrayal.
---
The sky no longer wore its divine face.
It cracked—like a mirror reflecting false prayers from the underworld.
In the council chamber veiled in purple mist and the chime of astral bells, seven figures stood.
They were the oldest guardians of law, the watchers of the soul realm—
The Seven Hellseer Council.
"Elimination is necessary," Noveras spoke, his voice like embers scorching flesh.
"No. Sealing," Ysera replied softly, her eyes shimmering with sorrow.
But Dorvas gripped his astral chains and struck them to the floor. "Their bond with Maxcen has surpassed the threshold of salvation."
Soon after, three descended into the mortal realm:
Saelmir, the reader of memories.
Dorvas, the warden of chains.
Kavdrin, the bearer of the scale of sin.
They did not come to judge—
They came to purify, cruelly.
---
Enver stood among the ruins of a town swallowed by astral storm.
His eyes did not waver as he felt the pressure of a fractured dimension.
He had been waiting.
"Three councilors at once. This world must truly be trembling," he muttered.
Dark fog curled around the earth. From within it, heavy footsteps echoed.
Three Hellseer symbols ignited the air—
A closed eye, a blood-soaked scale, and a chain with a broken keyhole.
Saelmir stepped forward first. "Enver Eraly. You have strayed from the pure intent of purification. Your blood… has unlocked hell."
"No." Enver stared into them. "I merely cleanse. But you… you conceal."
Dorvas struck his chains—
The world trembled.
A thousand invisible shackles surged toward Enver's body.
But he raised his hand—
And all the purification symbols upon his skin burst into silvery-white flame.
The world was swallowed by silence.
Battle erupted.
Saelmir attacked with memories—
Visions of Enver's mother burning, his father nailed to a spiritual cross.
But Enver did not flinch.
He stared into the mirage… and said,
"I buried those wounds with awareness, not vengeance."
Kavdrin raised his scale. "Your blood is no longer in balance."
But as the scale turned black, Enver stomped the earth—
From beneath, lights emerged:
Fragments of souls he had once purified.
They danced around him like witnesses.
"If sin can be measured, why have you never weighed your silence?"
Dorvas bared his teeth. "You have become Maxcen's bridge!"
"No. But you…
You closed your eyes while the bridge was built."
Three against one.
The world began to split.
Yet elsewhere—
In a realm not named in any scripture,
On a throne recorded neither by angels nor demons—
A song was heard.
---
Zephyr stood.
His body draped in a robe of unstained white,
And on his face—peace unknown to any mortal.
Before him stood millions of astral beings—
Of all forms, all origins—
Singing a hymn with no lyrics,
Yet praising deeper than any word.
"Ma-x-cen…
Ma-x-cen…"
The sound echoed through the lungs of a dead world.
Structures built of soul-bone rose around him.
The sky pulsed the color of frozen blood.
Zephyr did not weep.
Zephyr did not question.
Zephyr did not regret.
At the frontmost line he stood,
Eyes locked on a colossal statue of Maxcen—
Whose eyes slowly began to open.
Among millions of voices,
He too began to sing.
His hand—once broken and scarred—was now whole.
His arms and fingers carved like divine sculptures.
A faint smile curved his lips—
Not from joy…
But from a freedom no one could describe.
He was no longer a brother.
No longer human.
No longer the Zephyr Enver once knew.
He was… the first worshipper
Of a god hated by the cosmos.
---
Meanwhile, the battle between Enver and the three councilors showed no end.
Blood dripped from his palms—
Not from wounds,
But from a body that refused a fabricated truth.
Enver raised his final symbol—
A purification mark long hidden on his back.
As it blazed into light,
The world around him seemed to hold its breath.
The three councilors were hurled away.
But Enver did not pursue.
He stood amidst the destruction, breath steady.
"I will not run.
But I will not stop either."
His eyes turned skyward—
Or rather, to the realm beyond the sky.
"Zephyr…
What have you chosen?"