Nine years had passed.
The winds of H'Trae had grown gentle. The skies, once torn by battles and celestial rifts, now shone in hues of endless blue. Peace had wrapped itself around the world like a warm cloak. The System was long gone, buried in mory. The old order had faded, and in its place, a new era had blossod—one where the people were free, where magic was no longer shackled to divine rules, and the future was sothing to be shaped by will, not dictated by fate.
Rey sat beneath a blossoming silver tree in the front yard of their countryside ho. The breeze played with his hair as Lucielle's laughter echoed from inside.
Their three children—Aris, the eldest at eight, with his wild spirit and dark wings; Myra, their seven-year-old daughter with erald eyes and sharp wit; and the youngest, baby Elias, barely a year old and just learning to walk—all played outside with a certain jet-black feline who was lazily flicking his tail and pretending to be annoyed every ti they pounced on him.
Ater, now often in his relaxed cat form, grumbled softly as Myra tackled him again.
"I am a creature older than your stars," he muttered.
"And you're losing to a kid!" Aris laughed, victorious.
Elias giggled as he tried to climb on Ater's back, and for once, the old being didn't mind. His purrs rumbled like ancient thunder beneath the surface.
Rey watched, leaning on the fence, arms folded and heart full. He had never imagined such a life would be possible after the cruel war—after the many sacrifices that had been made to arrive at this point.
And yet… here he was.
Alive. Whole. Happy.
"Okay, guys… it's ti to take it all indoors." Lucielle popped out, her clear smile radiating in the air as Rey turned towards her. "Ti to eat!"
Everyone rushed into the house, and Rey also joined, hugging and kissing his wife before proceeding inside. They all enjoyed their al—even Ater, who was now in human form, was enjoying the sumptuous al prepared mostly by Lucielle's Magic.
It was a peaceful mont… one which everyone in the room wished lasted forever
But this peace had a price.
KOK! KOK!! KOK!!!
A knock suddenly echoed at the door.
Sharp. Clear. Singular.
Ater froze.
His hair stood on end, his eyes narrowing into slits, and turned to Rey with solemn eyes.
"…It's them," he said.
Rey's expression darkened. He turned toward the door with grim resolve.
"I've been expecting them," he muttered.
The calm that had blanketed H'Trae for nine years cracked in an instant.
They both stepped outside.
The air had changed—like ice beneath sumr sun. The sky, once gentle, now rippled unnaturally. Before them stood two figures, but they were not Angels. No radiant wings. No golden halos.
No warmth.
The first was pale and slender, with skin like bleached bone, and eyes that devoured the light around them. The other was taller and more muscular, cloaked in shadows that moved like serpents around his limbs.
Their presence didn't just distort the air—it corrupted it.
Rey clenched his fists.
"Who are you?" he demanded.
Ater's eyes widened in recognition—no, in dread.
"No… not them. Not here," he whispered. "Rey, run—get your family—!"
But before Ater could move, the tall one surged forward, faster than thought. In one cruel motion, he seized Ater by the neck, lifting the ancient being like he weighed nothing.
"Ater!" Rey shouted, stepping forward and conjuring every ounce of Ancient MajiK he had spent years mastering.
He unleashed a blast of layered Spells, power that could rewrite the fabric of matter—but the thin, pale one rely raised a hand.
The spell shattered.
Rey gasped, trying again, this ti embedding his soul into the casting. It didn't matter. His powers, honed for nine years, were undone like dust before a storm.
The tall one turned to Rey next, grabbing his throat and lifting him into the air.
"Let… them… go…" Rey choked.
The other one said nothing. He simply turned and entered Rey's ho.
"No… Lucielle! The kids—!" Rey scread.
But he was helpless.
He heard the sound of struggling. Then a scream—Lucielle's voice. His heart dropped.
Then silence.
Agonizing silence.
He thrashed, desperate, crying out with all the energy he could summon—but he couldn't move. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't stop it.
A voice called out from within.
"Co in."
The one holding Rey obeyed.
Rey's body was flung to the floor like a discarded toy. Ater was dropped beside him, weakened and breathing shallowly.
Inside their ho—the place of laughter and warmth—Lucielle and the children lay still. They were drenched in black blood, drowned in what felt like corrupt, mucky thick liquid that resembled dirty oil more than blood.
Their eyes empty. Their chests unmoving.
Dead.
"No…"
Rey's voice cracked. The world trembled as he tried to rise, tears slipping from his eyes.
"No, please—Lucielle—Aris—Myra—Elias—don't—!"
Seated in a wooden chair, reclined like a king on a throne, was the one who had done it. Black horns curved from his skull. His eyes were bottomless pits of eerie darkness, and the aura around him was more than divine.
It was ancient—more ancient than anything Rey had ever witnessed.
"I am Zagan," the figure said, smiling. "One of the Twelve Archdukes who serve the Ancient Chaos God."
Ater, despite his pain, groaned in sheer defiance.
Rey stared, broken. "Why…?"
"You made a mistake," Zagan said, voice smooth as silk and sharp as razors. "When those incompetent Angels failed to track your little pocket reality, we hunted. We found it. And now, because of what you've done, you've beco a threat."
Ater tried to speak, but coughed blood.
Zagan looked at him curiously. "You… your presence feels familiar."
His eyes narrowed.
"No matter," he said.
"We'll burn this world to ash. And you both—" he pointed at Rey and Ater "—will watch. Powerless."
Rey clenched his fists. Rage and grief fused into sothing unholy. He tried to rise. He tried to speak. But he couldn't.
He had never felt so broken.
So weak.
"I'll let you ask one question," Zagan offered mockingly. "A gift… before annihilation."
Rey lifted his head, his voice quiet but cold.
"Do you think… you'll live… after doing this… to my family?"
Zagan smiled.
"The world of H'Trae is nothing but a speck," he said. "And you, pathetic worm, are even less."
He stood, towering over them both, shadows stretching behind him like claws.
"This is the end of the line," he declared. "Everything about your story ends… here."
And Rey could only watch the shadows close in as Zagan's overpowering voice echoed throughout the entire world—everything he had ever known and loved.
"Now watch as we destroy it all."
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