Ashfall City no longer breathed.
The once-thriving capital now lay in silence, a graveyard of molten stone and shattered towers.
Ash and ember drifted like snow, settling over the corpses of knights and the broken sigils of fallen sects.
The storm overhead pulsed with veins of gold and crimson—remnants of divine power that still refused to fade.
Hayate stood at the city's heart, the Devouring Star dimly pulsing in his chest.
Every beat of it echoed through the ruins, like the tolling of a celestial bell.
Lirien stirred nearby, groaning. Her once-pristine white armor was cracked, wings shredded, her halo flickering in and out. Yet even in ruin, her beauty carried that unshakable light.
"Hayate…" she rasped, "you… came back."
He turned toward her, expression unreadable. The wind caught his silver hair, now streaked with threads of dark crimson. "Barely. But I'm here."
Her gaze drifted to his arm—where divine lines still glowed faintly like molten constellations. "You absorbed it. The Fragment of the First Star."
He said nothing, only clenched his fist. The air distorted slightly around it.
"I had to," he said quietly. "If I didn't, everything would've been erased."
Lirien struggled to stand, leaning against a broken statue of her former goddess. "And now?"
"Now," he murmured, "the war's only beginning."
The Ruins Remember
They walked through what remained of Ashfall's grand plaza.
A river of molten gold ran down the main avenue where once the temples stood. The spires of the Azure Sky Sect, the Crimson Wyrm Hall, and even the Seraphic Council lay buried beneath smoldering stone.
Lirien stopped before a cracked mural of the goddess—once a symbol of faith, now split in two.
"She's watching us," Lirien said, voice low. "I can feel her gaze in the clouds."
"She's waiting," Hayate replied. "Testing how much of me still belongs to her."
He placed a hand on the mural's shattered surface. The moment his fingers brushed the stone, whispers rippled through his mind.
"Devourer. Vessel. My half-born star."
"You cannot escape the orbit I chose for you."
He gritted his teeth. "Get out of my head."
"You are my echo, Hayate. Every breath you take is borrowed from my dream."
The voice faded with a cruel laugh. Hayate exhaled slowly, his fingers bleeding faint light.
Lirien frowned. "She's reaching through the tether again, isn't she?"
He nodded. "The link didn't break when I left the Void. It just went deeper."
The Return of the Fallen
As they moved toward the city's outer edge, a faint tremor rippled through the earth. The ground cracked open, releasing black mist that shimmered like oil.
Lirien's wings flared instinctively. "What now—?"
Shapes crawled out of the darkness—humanoid, twisted mockeries of what they once were. Their armor bore symbols of Ashfall's defenders, their faces contorted into masks of agony.
"The city's dead…" Hayate said coldly. "But the goddess won't even let them rest."
One of the revenants lifted its sword and screamed, voice split between human and divine echo. "TRAITOR!"
Dozens more joined, charging through the ruins.
Lirien unsheathed her blade. "Then we free them the only way we can!"
Hayate stepped forward. "No—let me."
He raised his hand. The Devouring Star ignited.
A spiral of black fire erupted from his palm, swallowing the first wave of revenants. Their forms dissolved into starlight, leaving behind faint golden motes that drifted upward.
[Skill Activated – Stellar Rebirth: Half-Devourer Form]
The air crackled as space itself warped around him. His blade—Astral Rend—formed out of compressed light, its edge humming with contained destruction.
Lirien paused mid-swing, watching him. "That power… it's not human anymore."
Hayate's voice was calm, almost hollow. "It's not supposed to be."
He dashed forward, each step leaving trails of burning constellations. In one motion, he cleaved through five revenants.
They screamed—not in pain, but in gratitude—as their souls were released.
He could feel them, faintly—each fragment whispering into his mind.
"Thank you… Devourer…"
He stopped, panting, eyes wide. "They… wanted this."
Lirien looked at him, understanding dawning in her gaze. "They were bound by divine residue. You consumed it. You freed their spirits."
He exhaled slowly. "Then maybe there's still something left in me worth saving."
The Bell of Ashfall
A low hum filled the air—deep, metallic, ancient.
Lirien stiffened. "That sound…"
From the center of the plaza rose a colossal bell made of celestial bronze, half-buried in molten rock. It pulsed with dull red light, and from within came the faint echo of voices praying.
"The Bell of Ashfall," she whispered. "It only rings when a god dies."
Hayate stared, eyes narrowing. "Or when one is about to rise."
The light intensified, forming a vortex above the bell. Within the swirling energy, the shadow of a figure began to take shape—long hair like liquid gold, wings black as dusk.
Lirien's face went pale. "No… that's—"
"The First Seraph." Hayate finished. "Her right hand."
The air cracked open as the being descended, landing amidst the ruins. The Seraph's six wings unfolded, each feather sharp as a blade. His eyes glowed with molten divinity.
"Hayate," the Seraph said, voice calm but resonant, "you stand between divinity and rebirth. Return what you've stolen."
Hayate met his gaze without flinching. "You mean what your goddess abandoned."
A flicker of anger passed through the Seraph's perfect features. "You think yourself worthy to wield the Devouring Star? You're a shadow wearing a mortal face."
Hayate's smile was cold. "Then let's see how long that shadow lasts."
Clash of Heaven and Void
The Seraph's sword materialized—a weapon woven of pure light. With a beat of his wings, he vanished.
Hayate barely blocked the strike, sparks erupting as their blades met. The shockwave leveled the ruins around them.
Lirien was thrown back, catching herself with her wings. "They're tearing the city apart!"
The Seraph struck again and again, each blow heavy enough to crack the air. Hayate parried, countered, but every clash drained the fragile balance between his human will and divine corruption.
[Warning: Core Instability – 87% Sync Overload]
Hayate growled, driving Astral Rend forward, piercing the Seraph's guard. The blade grazed his shoulder, leaving a trail of dissolving light.
The Seraph grinned. "Impressive… but incomplete."
He spread his wings, summoning spears of light that rained down like meteors. Hayate raised his hand, channeling black fire upward. The spears met the flames midair—detonating in a thunderclap that shook the heavens.
Lirien darted forward, adding her own power to his defense. "You're not fighting him alone!"
He shot her a brief glare. "You'll get yourself killed—"
"Then I'll die fighting with you!" she snapped.
The Seraph's laughter rolled across the ruins. "How touching. Two fallen stars clinging to each other before they burn out."
The next instant, he struck—his sword shattering Lirien's guard and impaling her wing. She screamed, falling backward.
"LIRIEN!" Hayate roared.
The Devouring Star pulsed violently, reacting to his rage.
[Warning: Emotional Spike Detected – Synchronization Limit Exceeded]
The mark on his chest split open, revealing the churning light of a newborn sun.
"Enough," he whispered.
A tidal wave of energy burst from him, swallowing the Seraph whole. Light and darkness collided, collapsing into a single blinding explosion that silenced the world.
When Heroes Fall Again
When the dust settled, the Seraph stood—half his armor melted, wings scorched, but still alive. Hayate knelt amid the rubble, panting, his form flickering between mortal and divine.
The Seraph's voice trembled now, less certain. "You're becoming it… the same monster she was."
Hayate lifted his head, a faint smile ghosting across his lips. "Maybe. But even monsters can choose who they devour."
With the last of his strength, he thrust Astral Rend forward. The blade pierced the Seraph's chest, igniting from within.
The angel screamed as his body dissolved into radiant dust, leaving behind only a whisper:
"The goddess will not forgive you…"
Hayate let the blade fall. His knees gave out. Lirien crawled toward him, clutching her wound.
"You… did it," she whispered, voice trembling.
He gave a weary chuckle. "No. I just delayed the inevitable."
He looked up at the sky—at the fracture spreading wider, spilling divine light over the horizon.
"The goddess is coming."