I felt the shift long before the angels themselves did.
War in the Below echoed through creation like a cracked bell raw, discordant, impossible to ignore. Every blow between Scourge and the angelic general reverberated through the universe, tugging at threads that were never meant to be disturbed.
But the loudest ripple one that shook even the celestial canopy wrapped around Elder's realm
came when Arephon fell.
The general hit the molten cliff with a sound that split the battlefield. Silver light cracked. His wings dimmed. His spear shattered. The angels watching above him faltered, whispering in horror as their strongest warrior lay broken beneath the first Fallen.
Demons roared in triumph.
Ellas, clutching his medallion, smiled through exhaustion.
Scourge stood victorious.
But in the realm of the Elder
something ancient stirred.
Elder's realm was unlike the Below. Where Scourge ruled fire and shadow, Elder presided over luminous forests, crystalline waters, and living starlight. Their world had no fear, no wrath only order, growth, and dignity.
Until now.
The moment Arephon's heart stuttered, the Elder watching quietly rose from their crystalline throne.
For ages, they had believed peace was enough. For ages, they had trusted their angels to be the shield of creation. For ages, they avoided war.
But the sound of their general breaking
that changed something inside them.
The Elder extended a hand, fingers shimmering with pure creation-light. The air rippled like liquid gold. Through every bond that connected Elder to their angels, the message travelled.
Many heard nothing.
Most heard only a faint hum.
Only one received a whisper.
Arephon.
Broken, bleeding, wings trembling, light flickering beneath the crushing weight of shadowfire Arephon lifted his head weakly as a voice reached him.
"Stand."
It was a whisper made of power.
Of promise.
Of command.
Arephon's eyes widened. His cracked armour pulsed once, then again, and then began to mend, piece by piece. The molten stone beneath him hardened into crystal. The flames around him dimmed.
"I am with you," the Elder whispered. "Rise, my blade."
Arephon gasped as celestial fire ignited inside his core.
I watched Arephon's fingers flex. Silver light crawled over his broken limbs. His wings folded once and then snapped open with a blinding flare.
Demons nearest him stumbled back, snarling, shielding their eyes. Angels above gasped in hope. Ellas stepped backwards, clutching his chest as his spark flickered painfully from the sheer intensity.
Scourge turned slowly.
He felt it.
Arephon rose slowly, steadily, impossibly.
His entire form glowed with Elder's power.
Not his old power.
Something new.
Something more.
Scourge's smile faded.
Arephon's voice cut through the battlefield in a harsh, ragged whisper:
"I am not done."
Scourge's wings twitched. "Impossible."
Arephon's feet burned molten impressions into the rock. The air around him shimmered with divine heat. His eyes glowed with the brilliance of a newborn star.
"The Elder has not abandoned me," he said, voice trembling with renewed resolve. "I rise with their blessing."
Scourge snarled. "Coward. You needed more power handed to you."
Arephon's spear reformed in his hand longer, sharper, burning with golden-silver flames.
"You refuse to understand," Arephon said. "This is not charity. This is purpose."
He raised the spear.
"And I will fulfil that purpose."
Then he attacked.
The ground split.
Lava erupted.
The sky cracked like glass.
Arephon moved faster than before faster than any angel should have been able to. His spear tore through shadowfire, carving arcs of pure light that forced Scourge backwards.
Scourge retaliated, shadowfire roaring from his torn wings, but the dark flames faltered against Elder's infusion.
The two collided midairlight and shadow exploding in ripples that sent angels and demons alike tumbling into the abyss below.
Ellas shielded his face, the medallion burning against his chest.
He's stronger now, he realised. Stronger than before. Stronger than me… stronger than Scourge?
Scourge's grin returned wild, unhinged.
"So that's how it is," he growled. "Elder finally decided to join the war."
Arephon didn't speak.
He just attacked again.
His spear sliced across Scourge's torso, severing a large crack that bled molten shadow. Scourge staggered, snarling in pain. Shadowfire rippled violently through his veins.
He looked down at the wound, shocked.
For the first time since his fall…
He bled.
"I see," Scourge whispered. "Then I cannot hold back."
He raised his spear.
Shadowfire surged upward, roaring into a colossal column that tore through the darkness and lit the entire battlefield with crimson flame.
Demons howled in glee. Angels flinched in horror. Ellas stared, breath stolen from his lungs.
Scourge's voice thundered:
"I AM THE FIRST FALLEN!"
Shadowfire erupted from him, spiralling into the sky, turning the Below red with its fury.
"And if Elder empowers you then I will offer everything I am!"
He launched himself at Arephon.
The general met him with equal force.
Light and shadow collided so violently that the shockwave travelled through realms. I felt the ether ripple around me. Elsewhere, Dream jerked from a vision and covered their face, trembling. The gods on distant thrones felt an ache in their bones they could not explain.
But two beings felt it most.
Destiny.And Destruction.
Far from the war, far from the screams of angels and demons, Destiny sat in his realm, weaving the futures of all creatures into a tapestry that had never failed him.
Until today.
The threads writhed. They tangled. They trembled. They snapped.
Destiny's hands shook as he tried to force them together, but every time he wove one path, another tore itself apart.
He had only felt this once before:
When I created the first universe.
He stared at the threads, horrified. "Why… why can't I see?"
The air rippled.
Destruction materialised beside him, shifting, unstable, smelling of scorched wood and blooming flowers, always existing in the space between life and ruin.
They tilted their head.
"You tremble," Destruction said. "That is new."
Destiny didn't look up. "The threads won't speak."
Destruction crouched beside him, poking at a frayed thread. "Does that mean the future is broken?"
Destiny swallowed hard.
"No," he said. "It means"
He stopped.
Destruction leaned closer. "It means what?"
Destiny closed his eyes.
"For the first time since creation… the future has no fixed direction."
Destruction blinked.
"That sounds fun."
Destiny's voice cracked. "No. It is terrifying. Everything could collapse. Everything could burn."
Destruction smiled. "Everything could grow."
Destiny slammed his palms onto the tapestry.
"I do not know whether this war will end the universe or begin a new one."
Destruction stood, dusting off hands made of flames and petals.
"Then let us watch," they said brightly. "Chaos makes the best stories."
Destiny, trembling, whispered:
"I fear Scourge and Arephon are about to decide the fate of all things."
Back in the Below, Scourge and Arephon collided in a vortex of pure force. Their weapons locked, their wings flaring, their power crackling into the very bones of the realm.
Arephon's voice rang with the Elder's blessing. Scourge's roared with unrestrained fury.
Shadowfire clawed against divine light. Divine light carved through shadowfire.
Each strike shook the chasms below. Each step cracked the obsidian crust.
Ellas watched them dance across the sky terrifying, beautiful, monstrous.
He clutched his chest again.
The medallion pulsed. His heart stuttered. His spark dimmed.
His rage rose.
I need more power.
But he also felt something else
Fear.
If he called the medallion now, if he unleashed more shadowfire
Would he lose the last piece of golden spark he had left?
Would he become a full demon?
Would he become human?
Or would he simply die?
He watched Scourge lash out with a wave of crimson fire, watched Arephon cut through it with a brilliant arc of white-gold light.
He saw the beginning of a war that could tear apart all realms.
And he understood something deep in his bones
This was no longer Scourge versus heaven.
This was creation versus collapse.
He closed his eyes, whispering:
"What am I becoming?"
Arephon struck downward, spear blazing with Elder's infused might. Scourge blocked with his own weapon, the impact blasting molten stone outward in streams.
"You cannot win," Arephon snarled. "The Elder has given me purpose!"
"And I," Scourge shouted back, "have given myself everything else!"
Their energy surged.
The below trembled.
Cracks formed in the sky.
Both fighters felt the shift Destiny felt. The unravelling of certainty. The dissolution of predetermined futures.
Arephon stabbed again.
Scourge roared and countered.
Their next collision did not echo.
It screamed.
A sound like the death of a star tore through the realm, ripping across the battlefield.
Angels fell to their knees. Demons shielded their eyes. Ellas gasped, collapsing. Destiny trembled in his realm. Destruction smiled.
And in the ether, I remained silent.
Watching.
Waiting.
For the world to decide the next breath of its future.