The dawn broke cold and sharp over the Northern plains.Mist rolled across the snow like slow-moving smoke, and the sound of metal echoed through the courtyards of Wintercrest — soldiers drilling, Direwolves growling, and blacksmiths hammering steel for war.
At the heart of this growing storm stood Arden Vale, Duke of the North, his cloak rippling in the wind.
His commanders gathered around him — Selene, elegant and calculating; Ryn, stoic with her assassin's calm; Elyndra, the elven ranger whose eyes missed nothing; and Mira, the cat warrior, whose tail swayed impatiently as she waited for orders.
Arden spoke quietly, yet every word carried the weight of command.
"Our next destination is the Temple of Broken Light. It lies beyond the Frostfang Mountains, buried beneath centuries of divine ash. What lies there may awaken the power I've long forgotten — and the enemies who remember it."
Selene's eyes narrowed. "You mean to retrieve a divine relic, my lord?"
Arden nodded. "The first fragment of my celestial core. It's time I reclaim what was once mine."
Elyndra slung her bow over her shoulder. "Then the North rides with you."
Arden smiled faintly. "No. This time, only my shadows will follow."
He looked toward Ryn, Mira, and Elyndra. "You three. Prepare the supplies. We move at dusk."
The Frostfang Mountains were merciless — their peaks so high the air itself seemed to freeze.The group traveled through ancient trails long forgotten by men. Wolves prowled the ridges, and phantom winds whispered through the stones like lost souls.
On the third night, they reached a ravine where the mountains split open to reveal the remnants of something immense.
A temple — shattered, half-buried in frost and crystal. Its pillars were carved from divine marble, but black cracks ran across them like veins of corruption.
Elyndra exhaled. "So this is the Temple of Broken Light…"
Ryn stepped forward cautiously, scanning the entrance. "No tracks. No life. But there's… presence."
Mira's ears twitched. "Feels like… something watching."
Arden drew his sword. "That's because it is."
The moment his boot touched the temple's threshold, the ground trembled.The snow melted away in an instant, revealing ancient runes glowing with silver and crimson light.
From the shadows rose figures of pure radiance — Celestial Wardens, their armor forged from light itself, their faces blank beneath their helms.
"Guardians of the Fallen Temple," Arden murmured. "They were once my soldiers."
Ryn's grip tightened around her daggers. "And now they'll kill you?"
Arden's golden eyes flashed. "They'll try."
The first warden charged, its blade cutting through the air with divine force. Arden met it head-on, his sword erupting with golden Qi. The clash sent shockwaves through the temple, scattering shards of light.
Mira darted behind another warden, claws glowing blue as she tore through its spectral armor. Elyndra loosed arrows charged with divine suppression runes, each one piercing through the constructs with precision.
But for every warden they shattered, another reformed from dust and light.
"It's no use!" Ryn shouted. "They're infinite!"
Arden gritted his teeth, his Qi flaring brighter. "Then we break the source!"
He raised his blade, channeling his core energy — the air around him warped, his aura expanding until the wardens themselves froze mid-motion.
"Heaven-Sundering Style — Third Form: Falling Sky!"
His sword struck downward.The world itself seemed to split as a golden shockwave ripped through the temple.
The light faded — and silence followed.
When the dust settled, the wardens were gone. In their place, at the center of the temple, stood a single pedestal.Upon it — a sphere of fractured light, pulsing softly like a dying star.
Arden approached it slowly.
"This… is what remains of my divine core."
Ryn frowned. "And you mean to take it back?"
He smirked faintly. "I mean to remember."
He extended his hand. The sphere dissolved into threads of light, which wrapped around his arm, burning with celestial fire.
Pain ripped through him — but it wasn't mortal pain. It was memory.
A voice echoed within his mind — deep, commanding, divine.
"You defied the Celestial Order once.You shattered the throne and silenced the heavens.Why, Heaven's Bane, do you rise again?"
Arden's vision blurred. The temple around him faded — replaced by endless skies filled with light and war.
He saw himself, clad in armor of black gold, standing atop the corpses of fallen gods.He saw Elaria beside him, and behind her — legions of divine beings kneeling before his power.
And then — betrayal.A blade through his chest.The heavens themselves collapsing as his own allies sealed him away.
Arden gasped, collapsing to one knee as the vision ended.
Ryn rushed forward, catching him. "Arden!"
He steadied his breath, eyes glowing like molten gold. "I remember now… the one who struck me down."
Elyndra's voice trembled. "Who was it?"
Arden rose slowly, his aura flaring, his voice cold as the mountain wind.
"The Celestial Emperor himself — and his right hand.The Archangel of Judgement… Seraphiel."
The name alone made the air shudder.
Ryn sheathed her blades. "Then we know our enemy."
Arden looked toward the heavens, the divine mark on his palm now pulsing brighter than before.
"Not yet," he murmured. "Seraphiel lives. And if Heaven has begun its descent, he'll be the first to fall."
As they left the ruined temple, the sky above the mountains began to stir.A single ray of divine light broke through the clouds, piercing the snow.
Elyndra frowned. "Is that…?"
Arden's hand went to his sword. "A messenger."
From the beam of light descended a figure with radiant wings — but unlike the fallen angel before, this one knelt before Arden, not against him.
"My lord," the angel said, voice trembling with reverence. "I am Luceris, your last loyal herald. Heaven knows you've awakened — and they have already sent Seraphiel to the mortal realm."
Arden's expression hardened. "Then the war begins now."