The world turned to blinding gold.
When Arka opened his eyes, the palace, the council hall, and even Lysander were gone. He stood upon a vast plain of light endless and weightless, where no wind blew and no shadow could exist.
The air itself hummed like a living song. Floating islands of crystal drifted in the distance, connected by bridges woven from pure energy. At the center rose a colossal spire radiant, infinite, and terrible in its beauty.
Seraphiel's voice echoed softly in his mind.
"This… is the Celestial Court."
Arka took a step forward, the surface beneath his boots rippling like water. "So this is where your kind pass judgment?"
"Yes," she whispered. "Where even gods kneel when they are found wanting."
A path of light unfolded before him, leading toward the spire. At its gates stood two guardians beings of flawless symmetry, their faces covered in mirrored masks. They raised their spears but did not speak. The gates opened on their own, and a wave of pressure washed over him divine presence so overwhelming that it pressed the air from his lungs.
Inside, a thousand wings unfurled above a circular arena.
Dozens of celestial figures hovered in a ring, each cloaked in radiance so bright he could not see their faces. Their voices spoke as one.
"Mortal bound to starlight and abyss. You stand accused of desecrating the divine law."
Arka's jaw tightened. "I did what I had to do to save my world."
The voices rippled, like wind over crystal.
"By merging with the fallen Seraphiel, you corrupted the sanctity of both realms. The Abyss stirs because of you."
He clenched his fists. "The Abyss stirs because you ignored it! You sealed it away and left it to rot. I only stopped what you were too afraid to face."
A hush fell. Then one of the celestials lowered their wings. The voice that came was softer, older weary.
"Your courage is not in question, child of the wolf. But courage does not absolve defiance."
Light flared, and Seraphiel materialized beside him, her wings dimmed but her head held high. "Enough," she said. "If you wish to condemn someone, condemn me. I was the one who descended. I gave him my essence."
Another voice boomed, sharper.
"You were exiled for a reason, Seraphiel. You abandoned the Order for your sympathy toward mortals."
"I chose compassion over arrogance," she shot back. "And now your arrogance nearly cost creation itself."
The air trembled. The Celestial Court stirred, whispers fluttering like feathers.
Arka stepped forward. "If my existence breaks your law, then make a new law. Because I won't stop protecting my world even if it means defying your entire heaven."
The chorus fell silent.
Then, slowly, one figure descended taller than the rest, his presence heavier than gravity. His armor was etched with constellations, and his eyes burned like two suns.
"Enough."
Seraphiel froze. "High Archon Aetherion…"
The High Archon regarded Arka calmly. "You speak boldly, mortal. Few dare raise their voice in this court."
"I've faced beasts that devoured stars," Arka said coldly. "I can handle a few wings."
Aetherion's lips curved slightly not in amusement, but recognition. "Bravery without wisdom is ruin. Still…" He studied Arka, as though peering through every layer of his soul. "You are not a mistake. You are a consequence."
The hall stirred. "Aetherion!" one angel protested, but he silenced them with a single glance.
"The balance between Heaven and the Abyss has already shifted," the High Archon said. "Killing him would not restore it. We must understand why the void seeks him."
He turned his gaze to Seraphiel. "You claim the mortal's soul is bound to yours?"
"Yes," she said softly.
"Then your fates are one. If he falls to corruption, so shall you."
Seraphiel's eyes darkened. "I understand."
Aetherion extended his hand toward Arka. "Then hear your sentence, Arka of the Star Wolf. You will remain under the scrutiny of the Celestial Court. You will carry out tasks in our stead to mend the imbalance between the realms you disturbed."
Arka frowned. "You mean you're turning me into your weapon."
"Your freedom depends on your choices," Aetherion replied. "Defy the balance again… and both your souls will be unmade."
Light engulfed him once more.
As the Court dissolved, Seraphiel's voice whispered faintly.
"They didn't kill us. That means they're afraid."
Arka opened his eyes finding himself back in Aurion, standing at the edge of the battlefield once more. The aurora above still glimmered faintly.
He looked at the mark on his arm. It now shimmered with two sigils one of silver, one of gold.
"I'm not your weapon," he murmured to the stars. "I'll be something neither Heaven nor Abyss can control."
In the far distance, the wind carried the faint echo of wings and a voice laughing softly from beyond the horizon.
The Celestial War had begun.