The night above Ashfall City was silent—too silent.
No wind, no insects, no laughter from the drunken guards that usually patrolled the southern wall. Even the moon seemed reluctant to shine upon the sleeping city, hiding behind bruised clouds that swirled like old memories.
Hayate sat at the edge of the temple roof, staring down at the faintly glowing lines that ran beneath the city's cobblestones. Runes, hidden deep in the foundation, pulsed in sync with his heartbeat—or rather, with the Devouring Star's rhythm inside him.
Ever since the battle in the Hollow Sky, something within him refused to rest. The power he had gained felt alive—watching him, whispering behind every thought.
He whispered, "You're awake again… aren't you?"
The pulse inside his chest throbbed once, as if answering.
Beside him, Lirien landed lightly, her silver hair reflecting the dim moonlight. "You haven't slept in two nights," she said softly. "You'll burn yourself out."
Hayate didn't reply. His eyes were fixed on a faint tremor beneath the city—a vibration, rhythmic, deliberate.
Like… chains dragging across stone.
Lirien felt it too. Her voice tightened. "That's coming from below."
The Star inside Hayate flared, sending a pulse through his veins.
[Warning – Residual Divine Energy Detected: Entity Designation: CHAIN SOVEREIGN]
Hayate stood. "Then let's go."
The Whisper Below
The ancient catacombs beneath Ashfall smelled of rust and forgotten prayers. Each corridor was lined with statues of bound angels, their stone faces cracked and blindfolded. The deeper they went, the heavier the air became.
Lirien summoned a wisp of light, its glow trembling as if afraid."This place shouldn't exist," she murmured. "It's older than the city itself."
"Older than most worlds," Hayate corrected, brushing dust from an engraving. "These symbols—same pattern as the ones in the Hollow Sky."
They reached a massive iron door covered in melted sigils. The symbols pulsed faintly, red instead of gold. A low hum spread through the floor, vibrating through their bones.
[Caution: Containment Field Failing – Divine Seal Integrity 12%]
Lirien's wings unfolded slightly, feathers bristling. "We should leave. Whatever's down here—"
The door groaned open on its own.
Darkness spilled out like liquid smoke.
And then came the sound—the unmistakable, heavy drag of chains.
The Sovereign Stirs
The chamber beyond was vast and circular, its ceiling lost to shadow. In its center stood a throne of black steel, and upon it—a figure bound in countless glowing chains.
Its body was both solid and spectral, shifting between metal and mist. Where a face should've been, there was only a hollow void filled with shifting stars.
It spoke without moving, its voice echoing from the walls, from the air, from inside their skulls.
"Child of Balance… the Star within you does not belong to mortals."
Hayate felt his knees weaken. Memories not his own flooded in—planets devoured, civilizations consumed by a burning black sun. Screams, prayers, silence.He clutched his head, teeth gritted. "Stop it!"
The entity's head tilted slightly, studying him.
"You bear the Devouring Star. Do you even know what it is?"
Lirien raised her staff, voice sharp. "He doesn't need your riddles, ancient one."
"Riddles?" the voice echoed, almost amused. "Then listen, little angel. The Star is the remnant of a god who devoured the heavens themselves. And you—"The Sovereign's chains rattled, glowing brighter. "—are its next vessel."
The Battle of Restraint
The chains moved before they could react—hundreds of them, striking like serpents.Hayate's blade burst into starlight as he deflected the first wave, but each impact sent pain up his arm like lightning.
"Lirien—!"
"I'm on it!" She summoned radiant sigils that bloomed into barriers, but the chains tore through them like silk.
The chamber trembled.
[Synchronization unstable – Containment at 72%… 68%… 55%]
Hayate's lungs burned. Every strike he parried drained more of the Star's energy, yet the Sovereign wasn't trying to destroy him—it was testing him.
"Show me," the voice rumbled. "Are you the devourer… or the devoured?"
Hayate gritted his teeth. "Neither."
He focused inward, forcing the Star's power into a single point—his sword. Crimson light flared, swirling with threads of gold.Lirien's eyes widened. "Hayate, you'll overload—!"
"I have to control it."
Breaking the Seal
The sword screamed as he swung. A crescent of devouring light tore through the air, severing dozens of chains at once. The metal shrieked as if alive, releasing waves of raw emotion—faces of fallen gods, pleading, crying, fading.
Each chain broken made the Sovereign's body flicker.
It finally spoke again, quieter now.
"Balance cannot exist without sacrifice. Remember this, Devourer."
Hayate thrust his sword into the throne's base, channeling the last of his strength.The chains shattered with a sound like thunder breaking time itself.
Light exploded outward. For an instant, everything was white.
When it faded, the chamber was silent.The Sovereign's form stood still, no longer bound. Its hollow face tilted toward him one last time.
"You have freed me… and cursed yourself."
Then it dissolved into motes of light, each fading into Hayate's chest.
[Quest Completed – The Chains Beneath Ashfall]
[Hidden Quest Unlocked – Echo of the Primordial Forge]
The Aftermath
Lirien knelt beside him, her hand on his shoulder. "You're trembling."
Hayate exhaled shakily. "It's… not from fear."
She studied his eyes—tiny glowing symbols now turning slowly in his pupils. "You absorbed part of it, didn't you?"
He nodded. "The Chain Sovereign's essence. I can feel its memory. It could forge or bind divine laws themselves."
Lirien smirked faintly. "Congratulations. You're now part blacksmith, part apocalypse."
A tired laugh escaped him. "Let's hope I'm better at one than the other."
They started back toward the surface, but halfway through the corridor, the Star pulsed again—this time violently.Hayate stopped. "Wait."
The Voice of the Goddess
A tear split across the ceiling, spilling violet light into the tunnel. The ground trembled, dust falling in fine streams.
Then—her voice.
Soft. Cold. Familiar.
"My lost pawn has found his fangs."
Hayate's breath caught. "No… not now."
A massive eye of lightning and darkness opened in the sky above Ashfall, its iris swirling with divine hatred.Lirien's wings spread wide, shielding him from the falling debris. "She's found you."
[Main Quest Updated: Confront the Evil Goddess – Phase II Begins]
[System Warning: Host stability critical – Awakening nearing limit threshold.]
Hayate gripped his sword, the Star burning through his veins like molten fire.
He looked up through the hole in the ceiling at the churning sky.
"If you want me, come down yourself."
The voice chuckled—low, mocking, divine.
"Soon, Devourer. Very soon."
The eye blinked once and vanished, leaving only the echo of her laughter.
Ashfall's bells began ringing above. The city had awakened.
Hayate sheathed his sword. "It's starting."
Lirien frowned. "What is?"
He turned to her, eyes glowing faintly with starlight."The next war."
[QUEST LOG UPDATES]
[Main Quest Updated: Confront the Evil Goddess – Phase II Begins]
[New Ability Unlocked: Divine Chain Forging (Prototype)]
[System Notice: Further Awakening will attract Celestial Predators.]