When Aira awoke, her body ached like stone cracking under heat. Her breath came shallow, uneven but the air she inhaled was warm, not cold like before.
Golden light spilled through the high windows of the hall, washing over her skin.
She sat up slowly. The world around her was quiet too quiet. The shattered remains of the knights lay still, their armor dulled, their faces peaceful as if merely sleeping.
Then she saw him.
Leonard sat upon the throne again, one arm resting lazily on its gilded armrest, eyes half-closed. Not asleep simply existing, like time itself bowed to his rhythm.
His presence filled the hall the way gravity filled the world.
"Y-you..." she managed, pushing herself up with trembling arms. "Who are you? Why are you here?"
He opened his eyes. The same molten gold as before but calmer now, reflecting light rather than casting it.
"As I said before," he replied, voice smooth as still water. "I am Leonard the First. King of Kings. The God Slayer."
The words should have felt impossible yet somehow, they fit him.
"And why I am here," he continued, "is not something you need to understand. Not yet."
Aira swallowed. Her fingers brushed the place where the relic had been, only to find bare cloth. "Where's the artifact I brought?"
Leonard tilted his head slightly. "You mean the Relic of Saint Varn?" A faint smile crossed his lips. "It lies within me now."
Her eyes widened. "You... absorbed it?"
He nodded. "It was divine energy a spark left by the god of earth and light. I consumed it to return to this world."
She took a step back, her voice shaking. "That relic was supposed to save my mother! Why would you"
"Slow down, little thief." His gaze softened, though his tone stayed cool. "Or should I say... Aira?"
She froze. "How do you know my name?"
"When I gave you my mana," he said, "I also saw into your recent memories. Your name, your home, your reason for stealing the relic." He paused, studying her expression. "Your mother's illness. The fear that drove you."
Aira's breath caught. There was no cruelty in his words only quiet knowledge, heavy as truth itself.
But then his voice changed lower, distant, carrying a tension he hadn't shown before. "And yet… something in your memories troubled me."
She hesitated. "What do you mean?"
"The part where you called this land a fallen nation." His hand clenched slightly against the throne. "I should have left enough power and fortune here for it to remain strong for thousands of years. How could it have fallen?"
He rose slowly from the throne not with fury, but a kind of sorrow that made the air itself tremble. His cloak rippled though there was no wind.
He walked toward her, stopping only a few feet away. She could feel the warmth of his presence, like standing too close to sunlight.
"What... happened here?" he murmured, almost to himself.
Before she could speak, he lifted a hand. "This will hurt a little."
A spark flickered at his fingertips, then leapt to her forehead. Aira gasped — her vision blurred, her knees buckled. She tried to speak, but light swallowed her words.
Then darkness.
When Leonard opened his eyes again, Aira lay unconscious at his feet, chest rising softly. Through her memories, fragments flooded his mind flashes of the centuries he'd missed.
Cities crumbling. Rivers drying. Statues of him shattered and rebuilt in the image of other gods. His descendants fighting among themselves until nothing was left but faith twisted into greed.
Leonard exhaled slowly. "So that's what became of my legacy..."
He looked down at Aira, her face peaceful in sleep. "You poor child. You live in the ashes of my work."
For a moment, something human crossed his expression a faint, regretful smile.
He turned away, pacing toward the edge of the hall. Every step echoed like a heartbeat.
"All the work… all the years… the sacrifices," he murmured. "To bless this nation with fortune, with divine protection. And yet, someone stripped it bare."
He clenched his fist, and a faint golden flame sparked between his fingers. "It reeks of divine interference. No mortal could undo what I built."
He lifted his gaze toward the high ceiling, where faint cracks in the marble let daylight pour in. "Was it the Earth God? Or perhaps one of higher dominion… the Solar God, or even the keeper of galaxies himself?"
A humorless chuckle escaped him. "Playing with the fates of mortals again, are you?"
He turned back toward the throne and sat down once more, his expression unreadable.
"Well," he said softly, "at least you've given me something in return, little thief." His eyes drifted to Aira again. "Through you, I've been revived."
He raised his hand, conjuring a small orb of light above his palm. Within it swirled fragments of divine power the remnants of the relic. "This... this should keep me alive for now. Perhaps ten percent of my strength no more."
He closed his hand, extinguishing the light. "A demi-god, then. Barely enough to make the heavens nervous."
He leaned back against the throne. "Still, they'll notice. The god of earth, at least. His energy was bound to the relic I devoured. He'll feel the loss."
His eyes glinted. "But he won't find me."
Around him, the air shimmered faintly an invisible barrier sealing the room in layers of silence and concealment. "Even the supreme god won't sense me now."
He smiled to himself faint, but genuine. "Let them wonder."
Somewhere far above, in the divine realm...
The god of earth and light stirred from meditation, eyes snapping open. The chamber around him flickered with golden mist — his temples pulsed as he felt something wrong, something missing.
A thread of his divine power had vanished.
He stood abruptly, his radiant cloak trailing behind him. "Impossible," he muttered. "No one could steal divine essence without alerting the heavens."
He reached out, searching the mortal plane but found nothing. No trace. No signature. Only a faint ripple, quickly fading.
Another god entered a tall figure cloaked in white fire. "You felt it too, didn't you?"
"Yes," the earth god replied. "A disturbance. It felt like a demi-god awakening... but that's absurd. There are no demi-gods left."
The other frowned. "Unless one was reborn."
The earth god's face paled. "Reborn...?"
He turned toward the grand window overlooking the stars. "The legends say that when a demi-god returns without divine permission, it means a god is about to be replaced — cast down, exiled to a lesser world."
The other god shifted uneasily. "You think this is that legend?"
"I pray it's not."
He extended his senses again but found only emptiness. Whoever had taken his power was hidden beyond divine sight.
He exhaled, forcing calm. "Maybe it was nothing. A mortal experimenting with forbidden magic. Still…" His voice trailed. "I should report this to my superior."
When he did, the elder god merely smiled. "No, you're safe. You will not be replaced."
Relief washed over him — but deep in his chest, unease lingered.
Because even if he wasn't being replaced... someone else was rising.
Back in the golden hall.
Hours had passed. Aira stirred, groaning softly. Her fingers twitched against the cold marble.
Leonard looked up from the steps of the throne, where he had been sitting quietly, eyes closed in thought.
"You're awake."
Her eyes fluttered open. "How long... was I out?"
"A few hours," he said. "Long enough for me to regret using that spell on you."
Aira sat up slowly, holding her head. "You saw everything... didn't you?"
He didn't deny it. "Enough to understand your world."
She hugged her knees, staring at the floor. "Then you know how hopeless it is. The Holy Order controls everything. The poor starve while the priests grow fat."
Leonard studied her in silence. "The Holy Order," he said softly. "They worship the gods who destroyed my nation."
Aira looked up, startled. "Destroyed? You mean"
"They took what was mine," he said. "The blessings I gave this land the luck, the harvests, the protection — all redirected to those who built temples in their names. My descendants... betrayed me."
His tone remained calm, but there was a faint ache under it something between loss and disbelief.
Aira hesitated. "If that's true... what will you do now?"
Leonard smiled faintly. "What do you think a dethroned king should do?"
"I... I don't know."
"Neither do I," he admitted. Then, with a hint of warmth: "But perhaps I'll start by seeing what kind of thief fate has sent me."
Aira blinked. "What?"
He rose, walking toward her. His shadow fell across her face, and for a heartbeat she forgot to breathe.
"Rest for now," he said, his voice softer than before. "Your body still carries my mana. You'll need time to adapt."
She frowned slightly. "Adapt?"
"It's not dangerous," he said. "But you might... change."
"Change how?"
Leonard didn't answer. He simply smiled — the kind of smile that promised both danger and protection.
Aira sighed, crossing her arms. "You're not very good at explaining things, you know."
"Kings don't explain," he said with a glint of amusement. "They command."
She rolled her eyes. "Well, Your Majesty, I don't take commands."
Leonard chuckled softly, turning away. "We'll see about that."
High above, unseen by either of them, the clouds twisted unnaturally — as if something vast was watching.
The god of earth opened his eyes once more, heart pounding.
"There it is again," he whispered. "That pulse... it is a demi-god."
He turned toward the heavens, panic flashing across his face.
"No… not him."
Thunder rippled across the divine sky.
Back in the throne room, Leonard's gaze lifted suddenly, his golden eyes reflecting distant lightning.
He smiled faintly. "So... you've noticed, old friend."
Then his expression hardened.
"Let's see how long you can pretend not to be afraid."
The light dimmed. The air trembled.
And far beyond the mortal sky, a god began to pray.
End of Chapter 2