Once protectors of celestial and worlds now a traitors.
Traitors who turned their backs on the Celestial Order.
gathering around a cracked astral throne room, lit not by holy light but by a corrupted imitation of lit.
A tremor rolled through the dimension.
A crimson silver pulse of energy.
A pulse not felt for centuries.
Herald Astervion the Beast Star snapped his eyes open.
"That energy…! No. It can't be."
Herald hera rose slowly, her expression pale.
"It's her armament."
A low growl echoed through the whole room.
Herald Archion stepped forward, armor creaking with celestial scars.
"That armament should've never awakened. The Thirteenth is dead."
But no one in the 12 heralds truly believed that.
Herald Zygnus clenched his jaw.
"The Thirteenth never dies. She disappear a long time ago."
Lightning cracked above their heads as the truth settled like a weight.
The Genesis Herald.
The one they betrayed.
The strongest among them.
The rightful leader they exiled before rising as traitors.
"Show me the source," Herald iolara demanded.
A projection formed in the midst of the room showing the pendant in a mortal laboratory, glowing violently, resisting examination.
Herald Seraphis stared, voice trembling.
"Her signature… the original Genesis wavelength… preserved perfectly? That's impossible!"
Archion slammed his fist against the corrupted throne.
"That pendant should have been sealed in the Abyss. Buried and Lost!"
Selene whispered, "Or she protected it… knowing we would hunt her legacy."
The room thickened with dread.
Zygnus' voice dropped.
"And worse… it chose someone."
Astervion's face twisted.
"A human boy? A mortal? No lineage, no celestial blood? Why would the Genesis Herald select… him?"
Hers closed her eyes.
"She didn't pick strength. She picked potential."
She opened her eyes again.
"And a successor the Twelve would overlook."
iolara hissed, "She hid her final weapon inside a nobody."
Archion paced, agitation growing.
"If she marked him as her successor… then he is a threat."
Zygnus growled.
"A threat to the Twelve. A threat to our rule. If the boy awakens the full armament "
Hera finished, voice sharp
"he becomes the next Genesis Herald."
Silence fell.
Heavy.
Poisonous.
Herald Seraphis finally spoke what the others feared.
"We must kill him before the armament fully awakens."
Zygnus raised a hand.
"Wait."
The others paused.
His gaze hardened.
"Killing him might trigger the contingency she left behind."
Iolara frowned. "You think she predicted our betrayal?"
"She predicted everything." Zygnus spatted. "She knew we'd turn. She knew we'd break the Celestial Order. She knew… we'd hunt her legacy."
Hera spatted trembling.
"She vanished to protect something… this must be it."
Astervion leaned forward, voice rough.
"Then why him? Why that human boy?"
Archion answered coldly.
"Because he is unpredictable. Someone even we cannot foresee."
Hera's eyes widened.
"That's why she chose him."
The 12 herald show a fear they couldn't hide
Zygnus lowered his voice to a whisper.
"If the Genesis Armament awakens completely… she returns with it."
The Heralds froze.
The very thought chilled the corrupted chamber.
Herald Iolara swallowed hard.
"The Thirteenth Herald… ?"
Archion clenched his teeth.
"We need to act. Quietly. Strategically. Before the pendant bonds permanently."
Astervion growled.
"We will find the boy. Before she does."
Hera added softly…
"Before the Genesis Herald awakens again."
The twelve traitors rose from their thrones, their corrupted auras darkening the starless void around them.
Their decision was made.
The hunt had begun.