The sky burned red.
Smoke rolled across the horizon like storm clouds, and the air trembled with the roar of battle. Flames consumed shattered ships along the coastline while thousands of soldiers clashed beneath a dying sun.
The sea itself seemed to bleed.
Steel met steel. Shields splintered. War cries echoed across the Zerrrax Coastline as two armies collided with relentless fury.
It was the third day of the siege.
And neither side intended to yield.
"FORWARD!"
A golden-armored Angelic commander raised his sword high above the chaos, his voice cutting through the battlefield like thunder.
Behind him, ranks of soldiers surged forward, their armor glinting beneath the fiery sky.
Across the battlefield, black-armored Arcadian warriors responded with equal ferocity.
"DO NOT YIELD!"
Their commander stepped forward, twin blades flashing with sparks of dark energy as his army roared in response.
The battlefield erupted into a storm of clashing blades.
Above the carnage, engines hummed.
A sleek transport craft roared across the burning sky, its metal hull rattling as blasts of energy streaked past.
Inside the cockpit, a pilot gripped the controls.
"Entering combat airspace," he said grimly. "Taking heavy crossfire."
Behind him stood a man with silver hair and piercing blue eyes. His armor glowed faintly with streaks of blue energy running through its metallic surface.
Renku The Orion of Hope.
He stared out the viewport at the battlefield below, watching soldiers slaughter one another like insects in a pit.
His expression hardened.
"Remember why we're here," he said quietly.
His voice carried a calm authority.
"We end this. No more blood."
The transport door hissed open.
Heat and ash rushed inside as the battlefield roared beyond the ramp.
A figure stepped forward.
Dark hair, amber eyes, Black armor traced with amber lines, Zether The Orion Of Shadows.
He walked calmly down the ramp as if stepping into a quiet evening rather than a raging war.
Soldiers noticed him immediately.
Some rushed forward with raised blades.
Zether barely glanced at them.
"Light blinds," he murmured softly.
His golden eye flickered beneath the shadow that crept across half his face.
"Shadows reveal."
He took another step, the ground beneath him darkened.
Black tendrils erupted from the earth. They burst upward like living spears, wrapping around the charging soldiers before they could react.
"What the—?!"
The men screamed as the shadows bound them in place, lifting them helplessly from the battlefield.
One soldier struggled against the living darkness, panic flooding his voice.
"Hrk—!"
But the shadows held tight.
Unbreakable.
A sudden light filled the sky.
Zether paused.
Above the battlefield, the clouds split apart.
Golden radiance poured down like sunlight from heaven itself.
At its center hovered a figure of divine brilliance.
Andreia, The Orion of Light.
Her long golden hair flowed like liquid sunlight as enormous radiant wings spread behind her. Armor of white and gold gleamed around her body as she raised her hand toward the battlefield.
Dozens of glowing sigils appeared in the sky around her.
Each one formed into a blazing blade of light.
Her voice rang across the battlefield like a divine decree.
"DIVINE SWORDS!"
The blades of light fired downward.
SHWOOOM!
The sky itself seemed to rain fire.
Golden lances struck the battlefield with explosive force, shattering the ground and scattering armies in waves of radiant destruction.
Soldiers threw themselves to the ground as the divine storm rained down.
When the light faded, the battlefield had fallen silent.
Through the smoke stood another figure.
Valak The Orion of Chaos.
His white hair glowed crimson beneath the burning sky, and molten energy pulsed through the red armor covering his body.
He watched the surviving soldiers stumble back in terror.
"…hm."
His lips curled into a faint smile.
Across the battlefield, lightning crackled.
Renku stepped forward, raising his hand toward the sky.
Blue energy surged through his armor as thunder roared above.
"DIVINE CLEANSE!"
A pillar of brilliant lightning descended from the heavens.
KRAAAAAASH!
The beam tore through the battlefield like a spear of judgment, blasting apart the last remnants of the fighting armies.
Moments later, silence returned.
Smoke drifted across the coastline.
The war had ended.
Soldiers began to retreat.
"RETREAT!"
"Fall back!"
"To the transports!"
Arcadain troops scattered across the field, racing toward hovering evacuation ships as the reality of their defeat sank in.
Above them, the four Orions gathered.
Renku stood beside Zether.
Andreia descended slowly from the sky, her wings folding behind her.
Valak stood slightly apart from the others, watching the fleeing soldiers disappear toward the distant transports.
Renku exhaled slowly.
"The battlefield is clearing."
Andreia nodded.
"The fighting has ceased."
Zether folded his arms.
"Then our task is complete."
For a moment, silence settled between them.
The wind carried the smell of ash across the broken coastline.
Then Valak spoke quietly and coldly.
"No."
The others turned.
Red energy flickered across Valak's armor as he raised his hand toward the retreating army.
His crimson eyes glowed.
"No one leaves."
The air around him ignited.
Red energy gathered instantly in his palm, swirling like a miniature storm. Sparks of violent crimson lightning crackled through the growing sphere, pulling heat and light toward its center.
The air itself seemed to tremble.
Valak's crimson eyes gleamed with excitement.
"Chaos Comet."
The sphere expanded rapidly, becoming a blazing mass of unstable power that pulsed like a dying star. Dark red currents spiraled around it as if reality itself were bending under its weight.
Across the battlefield, soldiers froze.
Above them, the evacuation transports hovered just meters above the ground, engines humming as the last survivors rushed aboard.
Valak extended his arm.
The red chaos energy comet roared forward.
The sky split open with a deafening howl.
The massive sphere streaked across the battlefield like a falling star, leaving a trail of burning crimson energy behind it.
Below, terrified soldiers pointed upward.
"What is that?!"
"Run!"
"Take cover!"
The Chaos Comet slammed into the transports.
WHOOOOOOM.
The explosion erupted like the birth of a sun.
Fire consumed the sky. Shockwaves blasted outward, tearing through the ground and throwing soldiers violently through the air. Metal hulls twisted and shattered as the transports disintegrated into burning debris.
BOOOOOM.
Flames swallowed the horizon.
Within seconds, the evacuation fleet was gone.
Nothing remained but smoke and falling ash.
Silence followed.
The battlefield had become a crater of molten earth and shattered steel.
One broken transport lay half-buried along the edge of the impact zone, its hull torn open like a crushed shell.
Nearby, something glinted in the dirt.
A golden emblem.
A winged crest.
A trembling hand reached toward it.
"…kh…"
Renku's blue armor flickered weakly with residual electricity as he pulled himself upright, staring across the ruined battlefield.
His eyes widened.
The survivors were gone.
All of them.
He slowly turned his gaze toward the center of the crater.
The ground trembled.
Then—
BOOOOM.
A figure rose from the molten earth.
Valak stepped forward through the burning rubble, crimson energy rolling off his armor like living fire.
Renku's voice shook with anger.
"You murdered them."
Valak met his gaze calmly.
"I ended it."
"They were retreating!" Renku shouted.
His fists clenched, electricity snapping violently around his armor.
"It was over! You didn't have to kill them!"
Valak tilted his head slightly.
A faint smile touched his lips.
"You still don't see it… do you, Renku?"
The flames behind him crackled as he stepped closer.
"You preach peace," Valak continued quietly. "Yet to them you are just tool for them to use."
His crimson eyes burned.
"Does that never exhaust you?"
Renku faltered for a moment.
Valak continued.
"You kneel," he said coldly, "to mortals who sit upon thrones of lies."
An image of silhouettes of rulers and councilors seemed to rise from the smoke—figures hidden safely within distant capitals while others died in their name.
A hardened voice questions.
"Do you really believe what you're saying, Valak?"
Zether stepped forward behind them, his golden eyes narrowing as tension filled the air.
"The path you're choosing is the easy one."
Valak laughed softly.
"Easy?"
The word echoed like a challenge.
Valak stepped toward the bodies scattered across the battlefield.
His boot crushed the dirt beside one fallen soldier.
TZSHKK.
A streak of red energy pierced the corpse, igniting it instantly.
"We are puppets," Valak said.
His voice grew colder.
"The Council sends us to clean their mistakes."
He gestured toward the ruins that is now the battlefield.
"You fail to see the truth."
His gaze hardened.
"It takes two to create a war."
"The Angelics are just as responsible for this ruin as the Arcadians."
The wind howled across the shattered coastline.
Valak spread his arms wide.
"We are gods walking among mortals."
"And yet we kneel."
His voice rose with fury.
"They speak of war from the comfort of their capital!"
Renku stared at him, stunned.
"…!"
For a moment, the only sound was the crackle of fire.
Then Renku spoke quietly.
"Valak…"
But Valak cut him off.
"You want to speak of easy?"
His eyes burned brighter.
"Following orders is easy."
"Turning a blind eye is easy."
His voice thundered across the battlefield.
"But doing what is necessary—"
He clenched his fists.
"Is not."
Red chaotic energy erupted behind him.
"You may call it genocide…"
His crimson aura flared violently.
"I call it salvation."
The other Orions shielded their eyes from the heat as Valak's power surged.
"I will end all wars!" he roared.
"Even if the universe must be remade to do it!"
Renku stepped forward desperately.
"Extinction isn't the answer!"
Electricity burst from his armor as lightning danced across the sky.
"We can fix this," he pleaded.
"Together!"
For a moment, Valak said nothing.
Then he turned away.
"Deliberation is a luxury," Valak said quietly.
"Choice is an illusion."
He began walking across the burning battlefield.
"Action is the only answer."
The flames reflected across the crimson crystal embedded in his armor as he disappeared into the smoke.
Andreia placed a hand on Renku's shoulder.
But Renku barely noticed.
He watched Valak's silhouette fade into the burning horizon.
A single realization settled in his chest like ice.
"Is it too late."
Valak stood still for a moment, staring across the burning battlefield.
The fires reflected in his crimson eyes as ash drifted through the air like dying snow.
Behind him, the ruined coastline groaned under the weight of destruction. The ground was split open by the impact of his power, molten cracks glowing beneath layers of shattered stone.
He did not turn back.
"Deliberation," Valak said quietly, his voice carried by the wind, "is a luxury."
His long coat swayed behind him as he began walking away from the others.
"Choice… is an illusion."
The red crystal embedded in the center of his armor pulsed slowly like a heartbeat.
"Action," he finished coldly, "is the only answer."
Each step carried him farther from the battlefield.
Farther from them.
Renku watched him go.
For a moment, he felt as though something inside his chest had broken.
Andreia stood beside him, her golden armor dim beneath the burning sky. Her still placed gently on his shoulder, trying to steady him.
His eyes remained fixed on Valak's retreating figure.
The man he once called a brother.
The man who had just crossed a line that could never be undone.
Another voice cut through the silence.
"What will you do now, Valak?"
Zether stood in the distance, his dark armor reflecting the firelight. His golden eyes followed Valak carefully, watching every movement.
Valak stopped.
Slowly, he turned his head.
His expression was calm.
Almost emotionless.
"What should have been done," he replied quietly,
"…years ago."
A deep rumble spread through the air.
The ground beneath Valak's feet began to glow with lines of emerald light, forming an enormous arcane circle carved into the ground itself.
Ancient symbols ignited one by one.
The air twisted violently as energy gathered.
Above him, the sky began to spin.
Clouds bent inward as a massive vortex of green light tore open the heavens.
Wind roared across the battlefield, lifting stones, ash, and shattered debris into the swirling storm above.
The vortex grew wider.
Deeper.
Until it became a spiraling gateway into something far beyond the mortal world.
Valak stepped forward.
Green light consumed his silhouette.
For a moment, his figure became nothing more than a dark outline within the storm.
Then—
He vanished.
The vortex collapsed into a single point of light.
And disappeared.
Far beyond the battlefield…
Beyond the stars…
Beyond time and space…
Beyond the boundaries of mortal existence…
A new world waited.
The Realm of the Gods
Floating monoliths drifted silently through an endless cosmic sky.
Fragments of ancient structures hung suspended in space, glowing faintly with divine energy.
At the center of this celestial domain sat a lone figure upon a massive throne carved from obsidian and starlight.
The God of Destruction.
His long violet hair framed a calm but dangerous smile as he gazed across his eternal realm.
Behind him stretched the infinite void of the divine cosmos.
Before him—
A portal opened.
Green light spilled across the stone as Valak stepped through the gateway into the realm of the gods.
He paused.
Then slowly lifted his gaze.
The God of Destruction was waiting.
A faint smile spread across the god's face.
As if he had been expecting this moment all along.
End of Chapter 1