The bells of Everlight tolled.
Not for celebration.
Not for worship.
But for war.
High above the city, the Seraphim Knights assembled in the Celestial Chamber, where divine light pierced through sacred glass and painted holy sigils upon the floor.
There were six of them each one forged from holy blood and celestial flame. Warriors of old, relics of a forgotten pact between gods and men. They hadn't been summoned in centuries.
Until now.
Seraph Gideon, the eldest, stepped forward, his wings spanning nearly the entire chamber. Feathers of golden fire crackled around his form.
"We were made for this moment," he said. "Not to be protectors of peace, but harbingers of judgment."
His voice trembled with restrained fury.
"We let the world rot while we stood idle in sanctuary. No more."
The others nodded silent, grim, resolute.
Seraph Elira, the youngest among them, lifted her blade. "If the abyss wishes to rewrite reality then we shall carve its name from existence."
They turned toward the altar.
The final rite awaited.
To unleash their full might, the Seraphim had to sever the last bond tethering them to mortality. A sacred flame burned in the altar's core The Heart of Aetherion.
One by one, they stepped forward.
One by one, they cast their names into the flame.
And with it, their humanity.
The Hollow Procession Nears
Selene paused atop a cliff as the Hollow Procession reached the borders of Everlight.
Before her sprawled fields of radiant grass and silver rivers still untouched by corruption.
Not for long.
She raised a hand. Dark mist coiled around her fingers like snakes, reacting to the purity of the land. Darius stood beside her, clutching his warhammer, now fused with abyssal memorystones.
"They'll send the Seraphim," Selene said.
"They've already begun gathering," Darius growled. "Good."
She turned toward the army of husks behind her.
Thousands stood in perfect silence.
"Let them see that the Light they worship… was the illusion."
Deep Within the Citadel – Oscar's Awakening
Oscar opened his eyes.
And the world trembled.
The black throne beneath him cracked, unable to contain his evolving form. His body no longer followed human shape. His veins were stardust. His bones, carved from cosmic echoes.
The System surrounding the Abyssal Core had begun collapsing. Not because of a flaw
But because Oscar was transcending it.
"Master…" Ethan said, kneeling before him.
Oscar's voice boomed, no longer spoken aloud, but felt in the soul.
"They will resist."
Ethan nodded.
"They always do."
Oscar extended his hand.
And from it, he summoned a single word one never spoken since creation.
Reality twisted.
Time folded.
And every god still watching recoiled.
Because that word
Was His true name.
The name that could end all things.
Elsewhere – A Crack in the Heavens
Across the sky, a line of light split the clouds.
Heaven cracked.
And from within, a Watcher stirred.
Its eye opened.
It had seen the coming of death before.
But never like this.
Never Oscar.
When Heaven Bleeds
A scar opened across the skies.
Not from magic.
Not from war.
But from reality itself, torn by the echo of a name never meant to be spoken.
Angels wept.
Not from sorrow.
But fear.
Oscar sat upon his throne of obsidian and starfire, his form constantly shifting, too immense for mortal perception. His very presence distorted light. The Abyss no longer contained him he was the Abyss now.
Across the world, cataclysms erupted.
Mountains cracked.
Seas boiled.
Forests blackened, not by flame but by memory erased from the roots upward.
The world was unmaking itself in preparation for something new.
Something unbound.
Everlight's Shield
Within the heart of the Holy Kingdom, the Seraphim stood atop the radiant spires of Everlight. Their armor no longer shone it blazed. Pure celestial essence ran through their veins. They had severed all ties to mortality. They were no longer knights.
They were weapons.
Seraph Gideon lifted his greatsword, now imbued with shards of divine constellations. "He speaks names that rewrite existence. If we let him speak again, nothing will remain."
Behind him, thousands of soldiers, priests, and saints knelt in unison. Prayer hummed in the air, forming a living barrier of light above the city.
But they all knew it would not be enough.
Not against Oscar.
Elira, wings spread, looked to the east. "The Abyss is moving again."
In the Fields of Dying Light
The Hollow Procession marched.
Dark banners fluttered in windless air. Abyssal knights, corrupted beasts, and newly-forged horrors paved a blackened path. Leading them, Ethan and Selene walked side by side.
Darius crushed a holy relic beneath his heel. "They still believe prayer can save them."
"They pray to gods who have already abandoned them," Selene replied coldly. "Let them scream into the void."
Suddenly, the wind shifted.
Selene's expression sharpened.
Something no, someone was coming.
The skies above ignited.
A pillar of light descended.
And from it…
Seraph Gideon landed, his blade crashing into the earth with enough force to sunder reality for miles.
Behind him five others.
The Seraphim had arrived.
"You shall not pass," Gideon growled.
Ethan stepped forward, undaunted.
"We're not here to pass."
His grin widened.
"We're here to break through."
Above Them All – Oscar Watches
Far above, Oscar stared into the rift he had torn.
And beyond it into a realm where even the gods feared to dwell.
Something ancient stirred.
Something even older than the System.
He heard it whisper.
"You are close."
Oscar's lips curled.
"I am close."
He looked downward.
Toward Everlight.
Toward the Seraphim.
And then…
He spoke again.
The name he uttered had no letters.
No sound.
Just meaning.
And all who heard it… forgot the moment before.
The Seraphim Shatter
The moment Oscar spoke, reality convulsed.
Time hiccupped.
Memories fractured.
Even the most steadfast minds among the Seraphim faltered blinking in confusion, uncertain of where they stood or why their swords were drawn.
But Gideon… Gideon endured.
Blood poured from his ears. His divine armor cracked. But his resolve, forged over centuries of faith and war, did not break.
"Form the Seal!" he roared.
The five Seraphim beside him moved in perfect unison, ancient words glowing across their weapons, bodies, and souls. Together, they shaped a circle of radiant sigils each one etched in a language older than gods.
It was the Seal of Eternity, a holy prison meant to lock away world-ending threats.
But Oscar only watched… amused.
"You think you can contain me?"
He raised a single hand.
And pointed.
Selene vanished from sight, teleporting into the heart of the formation.
Before the Seraphim could react, her twin daggers found flesh.
One slit from throat to spine.
Two pierced straight through wings of light.
Three imploded in a burst of black flame.
Gideon's scream shattered the air.
"No!"
The Fall of Light
The Seal collapsed.
Holy light unraveled, swallowed by creeping tendrils of abyssal corruption. The battlefield itself began to rot, grass dissolving into ash, the skies weeping ichor.
Darius charged with his abyss-forged warhammer, catching another Seraph off guard. His weapon, now fused with the souls of fallen priests, struck with unimaginable force.
Bone. Light. Hope.
All shattered.
Only Gideon remained.
Kneeling.
Bloodied.
Burning with the last embers of holy power.
Oscar descended.
Not flying.
Not walking.
Just… appearing, one step at a time.
Reality folded to let him through.
"You held strong," Oscar said, a whisper that echoed like thunder. "But strength without understanding… is nothing."
He knelt beside Gideon.
And offered a hand.
"You still have a choice."
Gideon looked up, the fire in his eyes dim but not extinguished.
"I would rather die a servant of light… than live as a monster of the dark."
Oscar's smile held no malice only certainty.
"Then let the light die with you."
A pulse erupted from Oscar's hand.
And the last Seraph was no more.
Elsewhere – The Watcher Awakens
Far beyond mortal perception, beyond the veil of even the gods' awareness something stirred.
A single eye opened.
Colossal.
Alien.
Older than creation.
It had watched countless realities bloom and burn.
And now, for the first time in a thousand lifetimes it noticed Oscar.
And it blinked.
The Abyss had grown too large.
Oscar… was ascending beyond the system.
And the Watcher was no longer indifferent.
It was afraid.