Two days passed in a quiet, sunlit peace that felt almost alien to Ashura Bellet.
He'd forgotten what it was like to wake up to the sound of laughter instead of thunder, to eat breakfast not because his body demanded it but because someone else had prepared it for him out of love.
The Bellet home—newly built on a hill overlooking the city—was a modest but strong mansion reinforced by mana seals and spatial wards. It was the kind of place that whispered safety. Birds rested on the violet roof tiles, the breeze carried the scent of blooming lilacs, and the world, for once, didn't feel hostile.
Inside, his mother, Arlena Bellet, moved gracefully through the kitchen, her every motion fluid and youthful again. The Elixir had done more than restore her—it had reborn her. Her silver hair, once brittle, now shimmered faintly in the light. Her soft smile carried both love and worry whenever she looked at her son.
Across from her sat Gina, Ashura's younger sister. Bright-eyed and quick-witted, she'd inherited more of their mother's kindness than Ashura's cold fire. She was recounting some small story from town when she noticed her brother quietly staring out the window.
"You've been staring for a while," Gina said, tilting her head. "You're leaving again, aren't you?"
Ashura didn't turn. His amethyst eyes flickered faintly, reflecting the city below. "Yeah. Soon."
Arlena placed a warm plate before him, her expression softening. "You've barely been home a week."
He smiled faintly—small, genuine. "I know."
The silence that followed wasn't awkward; it was heavy, full of unspoken understanding. Ashura wasn't the kind of man who stayed still for long, and both women knew it. Still, knowing didn't make it easier.
That evening, as the sun set and the house was washed in shades of amber and purple, Ashura called them to the living room.
He placed two small pendants on the table. They pulsed faintly with his lightning.
"These," he said, "are Aegis Pendants. I got them through the system. If you're in danger, they'll trigger automatically—teleport you to a safe location and shield you for thirty minutes."
Gina picked one up, eyes wide. "You really think we'll need this?"
Ashura didn't answer immediately. Instead, he crouched slightly, resting a hand on her shoulder. "The world's changing. I'd rather you never have to use it. But if you do, don't hesitate."
Arlena reached forward, her fingers brushing his cheek. "You've grown colder since you left home… but I can see you've also grown stronger. Just… promise me you'll come back this time, Ashura."
He caught her hand gently. "You know me, Mother. I don't break promises."
That night, long after they had gone to bed, Ashura stood on the balcony, staring into the moonlight.
He spoke softly, his tone that quiet command that bent storms.
"Erevos."
The air behind him twisted, shadows rippling before a humanoid figure emerged—one of his Named Wraiths, the first and strongest among them. Erevos was tall, draped in a ragged cloak of violet mist, eyes burning with sentient lightning.
"You will watch over them," Ashura ordered. "From the shadows. No one touches them. No one even breathes near them without my knowing."
The wraith knelt, its voice a whisper of thunder. "As you command… my Lord."
Ashura's expression softened for a heartbeat. Then he turned his gaze toward the dark horizon. "Good. Because if anything happens to them, not even the gods will stop what I'll do next."
Day Two – Evening.
Far from the Bellet home, the Amethyst Guild was alive with movement.
Squads reported back one by one. Missions had gone well—mostly.
Rin and her strike team had crushed the Ember Clan's raiders in the east, returning with their sigil burned into the ground and their leaders captured. Her report was short and to the point: "They won't move again."
Mira had spent her days watching the currents of fate, her eyes glowing faintly as she traced threads of divine interference weaving across continents. Something—or someone—was starting to shift divine authority again.
Takeru reinforced the guild's defenses, adding layer after layer of runes in case their leader's absence invited trouble.
And then there was Kai Tsukihara—his mission, however, was not as simple.
He had ventured north to the Eidolon Rift, the rumored resting ground of a fallen god.
The sky above the rift was cracked with red light, the air thick like static. The ground itself pulsed like flesh, and every step forward felt like trespassing on something that wanted to stay buried.
Kai adjusted his cloak, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. "If the Guildmaster sent me here, there's a reason," he muttered.
The air split.
A low, resonant growl echoed through the chasm as a creature stepped into view—a colossus, half humanoid, half beast, its skin like obsidian, its veins glowing molten orange. Its eyes burned with the will of something that refused to die.
Kai inhaled slowly, black fire coiling around his arm. "So this is the welcome party."
The creature moved faster than its size suggested. A claw strike came first, shattering the rock where he stood seconds before. The force sent tremors through the earth.
Kai countered, flames bursting from his blade as he slashed upward. The beast roared, seared but not slain.
The fight dragged on—minutes that felt like hours. He burned through nearly everything he had. His arm was bleeding, his lungs screaming for air, and still the monster moved like death itself.
Finally, he pushed his palm forward. "Blackfire—Requiem."
The explosion swallowed half the chasm. When the smoke cleared, the beast was gone… and so was half the cliff Kai had been standing on.
He fell to one knee, coughing blood, a grin splitting his bruised face. "Heh… barely managed it."
When he finally stumbled out of the rift and back to the guild a day later, his report was brief.
He dropped a cracked black shard—the remains of the creature's core—onto Ashura's desk.
"Next time," he said, exhausted, "you're coming with me."
Ashura chuckled faintly, leaning back in his chair. "If I went, there wouldn't be a next time for anything breathing in that place."
And just like that—the Amethyst Guild's fire, shadow, and storm prepared for what came next.
The calm before the next reckoning had already begun to break.