Chương 92: Chapter 91: The Dark Archon

The battlefield stood still. Even the roaring flames surrounding Ayanor seemed to lose their voice. High above the ruined capital... Michael fell from the heavens like a broken star. His shattered armor left a trail of golden light across the crimson sky before crashing into the palace courtyard. BOOOOOOM!! The impact carved a massive crater into the earth. Dust swallowed everything. Silence followed. Then... A single black feather drifted from the sky. Another. Then hundreds.

Each feather dissolved into dark particles before touching the ground. Rayan slowly looked upward. Someone descended from the blood-red eclipse. Gracefully. Without haste. She wore black celestial armor etched with silver runes older than the kingdoms themselves. Six obsidian wings stretched behind her. Unlike Michael's radiant halo... Hers was broken. Dark crimson energy leaked from its cracks like flowing blood. She landed softly upon the palace roof. Not a single stone cracked beneath her feet.

Power so perfectly controlled... It inspired more fear than any explosion ever could. The Guardian whispered her forgotten name.

"... Auriel." Every Archon present lowered their heads. Not out of respect. Out of terror. Twenty Thousand Years Earlier... Before Heaven was divided... Before the Black Sun existed... Two children had stood before the Celestial Tree. Michael. Auriel. Twins. Chosen together by the World Tree to become Heaven's first protectors. They trained together. Laughed together. Fought together. They were inseparable. Until the day humanity was born. Michael believed humanity deserved protection.

This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Auriel believed humanity would eventually destroy everything Heaven loved. That disagreement became an argument. The argument became a war. The war became history. Auriel abandoned Heaven. Michael remained. Since that day... The twins had never met again. The memory faded. Auriel slowly looked toward Michael. Her crimson eyes held no hatred. Only disappointment.

"You've become weak." Michael forced himself to stand. Golden blood flowed from his wounds.

"I chose mercy." Auriel shook her head.

"You chose failure." Lyra stepped forward. Her healing aura spread across the battlefield. Golden lotus petals drifted through the burning city. The civilians trapped beneath fallen buildings slowly recovered. Wounded soldiers found the strength to stand. Auriel watched quietly.

"So..."

"The little princess inherited his kindness." Lyra answered calmly.

"And you inherited his regrets." For the first time... Auriel smiled.

"Good."

"You've learned how to provoke people." Kael watched from above the battlefield. Unlike before... He remained completely silent. He wasn't controlling the situation anymore. The Celestial Trial had introduced pieces even he hadn't expected. Auriel. Lyra. The Trial itself. Everything was moving beyond his calculations. He found that... Interesting. Mordren landed beside Auriel. He bowed respectfully.

"The capital is ours." Auriel looked toward the city.

"No."

"It belongs to no one." She raised one elegant hand. Every Black Sun warrior immediately ceased fighting. Every Royal Knight instinctively tightened their grip on their weapons. The battlefield became silent once again. Auriel looked directly at Rayan.

"So..."

"You are the Eighth Flame." Rayan slowly drew the newly evolved Dharma Dragonblade. Golden dragon scales shimmered across the blade.

"I am." Auriel nodded.

"You resemble him."

"Arkan?"

"No." She smiled faintly.

"Yourself." Without warning— She disappeared. Rayan's instincts exploded. He barely raised his sword. CLANG!! The collision shattered every remaining palace window. Golden and black Astra erupted into the heavens. Rayan slid backward dozens of meters. His arms shook violently. She had attacked... With only one finger. Not even her weapon. Cassian stared in horror.

"... What monster is she?" The Guardian answered quietly.

"She surpassed Sovereign Rank thousands of years ago." Auriel looked disappointed.

"So this..."

"... is the one Atlas chose?" She gently flicked Rayan's blade. CRACK! A small fracture appeared near the guard of the Dharma Dragonblade. Everyone froze. A Divine Relic... Had been damaged. With a finger. Rayan steadied himself. Instead of attacking... He asked,"Why are you helping Kael?" Auriel looked toward the blood-red eclipse.

"I am not." The answer stunned everyone. Kael narrowed his eyes. Auriel continued.

"I serve neither Heaven..."

"... nor the Black Sun."

"I serve Balance." Michael slowly rose from the rubble.

"So do I." Auriel looked at her brother.

"No."

"You serve guilt." The atmosphere suddenly changed. Atlas' voice echoed from the heavens once more.

"First Trial..."

"Begins." The blood-red eclipse split apart. Seven beams of light descended across the continent. One landed upon Rayan. One upon Kael. One upon Lyra. One upon Auriel. One upon Michael. Two more shot toward distant lands beyond the horizon. Unknown candidates. Unknown champions. A translucent screen appeared before every chosen warrior.

FIRST TRIAL The Trial of Conviction Objective: Reach the Temple of the First Flame before the seventh sunrise. Inside the temple... Only one candidate may claim the Third Virtue. Failure to arrive... Will result in permanent loss of qualification.

The battlefield erupted into whispers. Kael smiled.

"So..."

"The race finally begins." Lyra gripped her sword.

"The Temple of the First Flame..."

"My father spoke of it." The Guardian's expression became solemn.

"It lies beyond the Sea of Eternity." Cassian groaned.

"Another impossible journey." Siena smiled for the first time in days.

"When has anything ever been easy?" Suddenly, Atlas' final words echoed across the sky.

"Beware..."

"Not every candidate fights for the future."

"One walks the path of extinction." As the message faded... Every candidate's screen flickered. For only a fraction of a second... Rayan saw something impossible. Instead of eight candidates... The system displayed nine. The last name was hidden. Only its title remained.

????? Title: The End of All Threads Before anyone could react... The screen vanished. High above the eclipse... Something unseen opened its eyes. And for the first time... Even Atlas fell silent. To Be Continue....