The sky was on fire.
Kael Ramos, seventeen years old and cloaked in ash and blood, sprinted through the crumbling corridors of the Solari Citadel. The world outside cracked like glass, divine spears raining from the heavens and rupturing the crust of his planet. His ears rang with the screams of his people—once proud warriors, now reduced to fading embers.
The Nameless God had found them.
Kael stumbled into the command chamber, blood dripping from his temple. The chamber's polished floor, once inscribed with golden glyphs of his clan's history, was scorched and broken. A single ship remained—a slender, obsidian vessel with a crescent-shaped hull and glowing thrusters. It wasn't meant for war. It was meant to run.
"Forgive me…" he muttered, teeth clenched. "But I can't die here."
As Kael slammed his hand into the activation rune, the ship's interface came alive. It scanned his blood, confirmed his identity—Kael Ramos, son of General Serath Ramos, heir to the Solari Ascendants—and the doors hissed open.
Behind him, the citadel doors buckled.
The divine soldiers entered—hulking figures in white-gold armor, their eyes burning with celestial energy. They carried radiant glaives that hummed with sanctified destruction. They were the God's Wrath: elite executioners of the Nameless God.
"TARGET CONFIRMED," one intoned. Its voice was mechanical, stripped of soul.
Kael dove into the cockpit. A spear grazed his shoulder, scorching flesh. He screamed, punched the launch sequence, and the ship roared skyward.
The vessel broke through the atmosphere, shaking violently as gravitational force clawed at its frame. Kael buckled into the pilot's seat, clutching his bleeding arm.
A hologram flickered to life before him—an artificial intelligence, glowing amber.
> "Destination?"
Kael gritted his teeth. "Anywhere the gods aren't."
> "Calculating safest route. Nearest habitable world: Eldoria. Launching warp drive in 20 seconds."
The stars stretched. His heart thundered.
But the gods weren't done.
Three divine pursuit ships ignited behind him, their thrusters flaring with radiant light. They were faster. More powerful. Designed to annihilate survivors.
Kael slammed the warp lever, but it jammed.
"Come on!" he yelled.
A warning blared. One of the enemy ships locked on. A spear of divine energy erupted, slamming into his ship's tail. The entire vessel buckled.
And Kael snapped.
His vision blurred. His heart pulsed like a war drum. A searing heat burned in his chest. Something awoke—a power buried deep in his bloodline. An inheritance he was never taught to use.
The First Awakening.
Golden-orange flames erupted from Kael's body, melting the restraints around him. His eyes glowed like miniature suns. His breathing calmed—not from fearlessness, but from purpose. His clan's birthright had activated.
Ember Ascension.
His aura ignited like wildfire.
> Power output increased x50. Reaction speed enhanced. Muscle density increased. Caution: stamina consumption critical.
Kael stood, floating above his seat now, flames dancing along his skin. He reached out, forming a blade of pure energy—his clan's weapon, forged from inner flame.
With a roar, he blasted from the escape hatch and into space, defying reason.
The divine soldiers in pursuit didn't expect it. One blinked.
Too late.
Kael tore through the first ship, cleaving it in half. Its pilot barely had time to scream. The other two swerved, attempting to pin him between plasma lances.
He danced between them—faster than their eyes could track.
He was fury incarnate.
He slammed into the second ship, blade first, cutting through the divine hull and detonating its core. A burst of white light exploded behind him as he rocketed toward the last.
But something was wrong.
His vision flickered. His limbs felt heavy.
The side effect of Ember Ascension: stamina burnout.
The last soldier saw his chance. It raised a radiant glaive and launched it toward Kael.
Kael couldn't move.
In a final effort, he hurled his flaming blade. It spun through space like a comet—and struck true, piercing the enemy's chest.
The explosion sent Kael hurtling back into his ship. He crashed through the hull, sparks and fire engulfing the cockpit. The ship, now badly damaged, plunged toward Eldoria's atmosphere.
He collapsed on the floor, flames around him dimming.
> "Stabilizing descent… activating emergency auto-landing…"
Kael could barely hear it. His skin was burned. His blood felt like lava. The golden aura faded. He fell into unconsciousness.
As the ship entered the skies of Eldoria, a trail of fire followed behind—like a meteor screaming across the heavens.
---
When the ship finally crashed into the wilderness of Eldoria's outer forests, it left a crater in its wake.
And in the center, surrounded by scorched earth and shattered metal, lay Kael Ramos—the last of the Solari Ascendants.
Unconscious. Alone.
But not broken.