Aurethiel. The Holy City.
It gleamed on the horizon like a blade of light — marble towers crowned in gold, walls etched with prayers older than memory, and skies patrolled by winged legions.
But to Kael, it was a cage.
He stood at the edge of the desolate ridge known as Heaven's Cleft, the last barrier before Aurethiel. Wind screamed between broken rocks, carrying the scent of incense and arrogance.
Behind him, his army had grown.
From the dregs of dungeons and the edges of empires, they came. Named beasts. Wyrm priests. Deepwalkers. Leviathan spawn. And among them, the common — rebels, refugees, reformed monsters — made unbreakable by loyalty and purpose.
[Kael's Army: 910 Units | Avg Rank: C+ to B- | Morale: Unshakable] [World Standing: Calamity-Class][Enemy Alert: Full Mobilization by the Divine Host]
Kael tightened his grip on the Abyssbrand. The Crown of Chains rested heavily on his brow, and the sync with Nullus now whispered at the edge of thought.
"We are done knocking on heaven's door," he said to Lira, Zar, and Elandriel, now walking freely among them, no longer a prisoner.
"Now we tear it open."
Gates of Aurethiel
The outer gates of Aurethiel stood like titans — forty meters high, inscribed with runes of judgment, surrounded by ten legions of armored seraphim.
And above them floated the Archwarden of Aurethiel — Varyel the Dawnwing, a Seraphim General ranked S-, wielding a halberd of solar flame.
"You've brought darkness to our gates, Heretic," Varyel called out.
Kael's reply was a gesture. He extended his hand.
[Skill: Leviathan Call – Active]
The lake had taught him. Now the skies would remember.
A rift tore above the holy gate. Nýthelgor, the Abyssal Leviathan, burst forth — not from water, but shadow made real. Its roar cracked clouds, sending shockwaves through the ranks of the Divine Host.
The battle began.
Heaven's Wrath
Celestial fire rained from the sky. Holy constructs were summoned by prayer. Light-fused ballistas hurled beams of divine energy.
But Kael's army endured. His presence alone bent reality.
Elandriel, reborn with voidlight wings, challenged her own kin in the sky. Zar led the charge into the heart of the legion, shrugging off blows that could fell giants. Lira controlled the battlefield with Twilight Barricades and mana inversion fields.
Kael faced Varyel alone in the sky — sword to halberd, abyss to dawn.
[Boss Battle: Kael vs. Varyel the Dawnwing | Rank S-]
"Your soul was meant to be judged, not crowned!" Varyel roared.
Kael bled, but smiled. "Then judge this."
[Abyss Manifest: Crown Ascendant Form] [Combo Chain: Dominion Grasp + Dread Implosion + Starless Rift]
Kael's form expanded — crowned in black flame, shadow-cloaked in echoes of future selves. He struck once — cleaving through Varyel's halberd, and then again — severing his wings.
The Archwarden fell.
The Chains Fall
With the gates breached, the army poured in. Temples fell. Shrines shattered.
But Kael didn't seek revenge. He sought reclamation. In the heart of Aurethiel stood the Sky Pillar — a tower that anchored divine will into the world. It radiated suppression, choking abyssal forces.
Kael ascended alone. At the summit, a final guardian waited — an echo of the Divine King who imprisoned Nullus.
"You are the fracture we sealed," the guardian whispered.
"No," Kael replied. "I am the key you feared."
Their clash shook the pillar. Reality bent.
But Kael stood triumphant.
He drove the Abyssbrand into the heart of the pillar. A scream — of divine structure unraveling — echoed through realms.
The chains broke.
[Nullus Sync: 41% → 55%] [Global Effect: Divine Suppression Weakened | Abyss Influence Enhanced in all regions] [New Title: Heavenbreaker]
Aftermath
Aurethiel didn't burn.
Kael ordered reconstruction — not annihilation. Refugees flooded the city. The sick were healed. The poor were fed. The holy texts were rewritten — not erased.
He wasn't just an abyss. He was something else now.
Something the gods would have no name for.
[Kael – Rank: B- (Pending)] [Influence: Global] [Domain Evolution: The Sovereign Accord – A united network of abyss-accepted cities]
As Kael stood over the skyline of Aurethiel, the first dusk that wasn't enforced by divine magic fell naturally.
Lira stood beside him. "They'll come back."
Kael nodded. "Let them."
He raised his hand — and in the skies, a symbol appeared.
Not of light. Not of darkness.
But of a crown.
His crown.
And the world knew:
The war for reality had only just begun.