Dawn broke over Heaven — soft, golden, peaceful.
Every corner of the realm glowed with new life as angels restored what the war had destroyed.
Laughter echoed for the first time in ages.
Hope pulsed like a heartbeat.
But Arhaan…
did not feel any of it.
He stood on a balcony overlooking the newborn gardens, one hand gripping the railing, breathing slow and shaky.
His vision blurred.
His fingers trembled.
The Oathbreaker — once blazing with creation — flickered weakly at his side.
And deep inside him, something was cracking.
---
THE FIRST SIGN
Kael approached quietly, sensing something was wrong.
"You're hiding it," he said.
Arhaan didn't turn. "Hiding what?"
Kael folded his arms. "You haven't eaten. You haven't slept. And you look like you just fought another god."
Arhaan forced a small smile.
"I'm fine."
Kael stepped closer and lowered his voice.
"Brother… I know what you look like when you're lying."
Arhaan finally turned — and Kael froze.
His eyes.
Not glowing with power.
Not blazing with fire.
But dim.
Duller.
The light in them wasn't fading.
It was leaking.
As if his soul was unraveling.
---
THE PRICE OF A GOD'S POWER
Selara rushed in, breathless.
"I found it," she said, holding a glowing shard of the shattered Throne.
"This fragment still remembers Heaven's laws. I can use it to analyze—"
She stopped.
Her eyes widened at the sight of Arhaan swaying on his feet.
"Arhaan…?"
He tried to speak.
Only a rasp came out.
Selara summoned her magic instantly.
Healing light wrapped around him.
But the light bent.
Twisted.
Dissolved before it touched him.
Her face drained of color.
"Oh no… his body… it's rejecting magic."
Kael grabbed Arhaan's arm as he staggered.
"Why would it reject it?"
Selara's hands shook.
"Because he doesn't have a single type of essence anymore. He's all of them.
Human.
Angel.
Jinn.
Creation itself."
Arhaan sank to one knee, gripping his chest as sharp pain tore through him.
"The Song… it's too big," he whispered.
"My body wasn't made for this."
---
THE CRACKS SPREAD
A harsh sound echoed through the room — like glass breaking.
Kael looked down.
Arhaan's skin had cracked.
Not bleeding.
Not tearing.
Cracking.
Like porcelain under too much pressure.
White light poured through the fracture.
Kael stumbled back.
"Gods… Arhaan—"
Selara fell to her knees beside him.
"The Song is burning you from the inside.
Your body is failing."
Arhaan drew a shaky breath.
"I knew… there would be a price."
Another crack split across his arm.
Then another down his ribs.
His heartbeat flickered, unstable.
Selara's voice broke.
"You used the Song to destroy Silence. To rewrite Heaven. To free every soul."
She grasped his hand tightly.
"And now… your soul is paying for it."
Arhaan looked at the newborn Heaven above them — glowing, alive, beautiful.
A realm reborn.
A world freed.
He smiled softly, even as light leaked from his lungs.
"It was worth it."
---
THE NEW HEAVEN TREMBLES
Suddenly the sky pulsed — once, violently — like a heart skipping a beat.
Angels looked up, startled.
The light around Heaven flickered.
Clouds distorted.
Selara's eyes widened with terror.
"It's starting."
Kael grabbed her. "What's starting?!"
She pointed at Arhaan.
"He is the anchor for the new Heaven.
Its light… its harmony… its rebirth…"
She swallowed hard.
"It's all flowing through him.
And if he breaks—
Heaven breaks with him."
The trees wilted for a moment.
The sky dimmed.
Stars trembled.
Kael's voice filled with panic.
"Then we need to fix him! Patch him! Bind him! Something—"
Selara shook her head violently, tears falling.
"No spell can touch him. No healing. No divine law.
He's become the Song itself.
And the Song is killing him."
Arhaan whispered weakly,
"Don't… worry."
Another crack split across his chest.
Light burst out.
His breath hitched.
Kael caught him before he fell.
"DON'T YOU DARE DIE ON ME!"
Arhaan smiled faintly.
"Kael… you always shout too much."
---
THE SONG FALTERS
The newborn Heaven grew dimmer.
Angels panicked.
Some fell to their knees.
Others rushed to the Citadel.
Fear spread like wildfire.
Selara's voice broke as she held Arhaan's head in her lap.
"You saved every world…
But you can't save yourself."
Arhaan's hand slowly lifted.
He wiped a tear from her cheek.
"You're wrong," he whispered.
His voice was soft.
Fragile.
Barely there.
"I'm not dying."
Kael exhaled in relief—
Arhaan finished:
"I'm becoming something else."
His body glowed.
The cracks widened.
Light poured from him like a rising sun.
Selara screamed,
"ARHAAN—!"
The Oathbreaker shattered.
The chains evaporated.
The Song swelled.
Heaven trembled.
The world shook.
Arhaan closed his eyes—
And everything went white.