The moment Gate IX collapsed, the sky changed.
Above the capital of Solarae, stars flickered unnaturally, as if the cosmos itself had hiccuped. The Leo constellation, once a brilliant crown of golden fire, trembled. For a breathless second, it looked as though a second lion—skeletal, broken, and coiled in shadow—overlaid it in the night sky.
Erza stood on the balcony of the Solar Bastion, staring upward. His chest burned.
Not from injury.
From disconnection.
The Leo Sigil embedded in his sternum—his link to the Celestial Flame—was flickering. The bond he'd forged since birth now throbbed with interference, like static on a sacred frequency.
"Noctyros did it," he said aloud. "He inverted Gate IX."
Behind him, his squad gathered in silence. Seris stepped forward, her voice hushed. "I felt it too. Like my core skipped a beat."
"It's more than that," Auren muttered. "I think… one of the Gates has fallen. We just watched a star die."
"No," Lysra said, pulling up her glowing constellation map. "Not die. It's been rewritten. Look."
She pointed to Leo. The lines connecting the stars were writhing, glitching as if something tried to redraw the myth. Not erase it—but overwrite it.
"That's not a corruption," Erza whispered. "That's a challenge."
The Celestial Council, Flame Chamber
High Chancellor Vael slammed his staff against the flame-forged floor. A ring of golden fire burst around him.
"One Gate has been inverted. The very fabric of the Astral Lattice trembles. We cannot afford hesitation!"
Around him, Councilors argued. Some demanded immediate action—others wanted to seal off the remaining Gates and hope containment was still possible.
Only Elyra, the Flame Seer, remained silent—until she finally stood.
"Noctyros was once a Constellation-Bearer. Like Erza. Like all of them."
Chancellor Vael frowned. "And your point?"
"We know what happens when such bearers fall. They don't just lose themselves—they rewrite their myth. Their entire constellation turns… inward."
"A twisted echo of the original legend," murmured Councilor Navarre. "An Inverted Constellation."
The room froze.
"What of Erza?" one Councilor asked. "Leo is connected to him. If that bond frays—he could unravel next."
Elyra turned toward the central projection—a real-time scry of Erza in the Bastion.
"He is not Noctyros," she said, voice sharp. "He survived the fall of his kingdom. He carries pain—but he does not let it consume him."
"And yet," Vael replied, "if he faces Noctyros directly and fails, Leo may collapse entirely."
A silence stretched across the council chamber, heavy as starstone.
Solar Bastion, Strategy Hall
Erza paced while his squad watched him in tense silence.
"He's sending a message," he said. "The Gatefall wasn't just a conquest. It was an invitation. A challenge. To me."
Korr sat on a table edge, arms crossed. "And you're planning to accept it?"
"I have to," Erza said. "I'm Leo's last anchor."
"If you enter that Gate alone, you'll be devoured," Lysra said. "The Inverted Abyss distorts everything—time, space, your very memory. You won't just fight monsters, Erza. You'll fight yourself."
"That's why I'm not going alone."
They looked up.
"You're serious?" Auren blinked. "You're letting us come?"
"I'm not letting you do anything," Erza said. "But if this is war, I won't fight it without my pride."
Seris smiled slightly at that. "The lion leads, but the pride protects."
They gathered, one by one, and placed their hands over Erza's. A silent vow passed between them.
Together.
Elsewhere – Gate IX Core
Noctyros sat on the throne of shattered starcrystal. Behind him, the remnants of Gate IX spiraled in reverse, pulled into a vortex of silence. The sky had no sun here—only a hole in reality that pulsed like a slow, thunderous heartbeat.
In his hand, he held the Shard of Leo—a corrupted piece of the constellation, pulsing with bitter flame.
Two Inverted Warlords knelt before him: Veyna of the Broken Lyra, who wept songs of madness, and Orryx, Devourer of Auriga, whose skeletal arms moved like broken clock hands.
"He has seen your message," Veyna whispered. "The Flame Prince marches to war."
Noctyros's smile was slight.
"Let him come."
He looked up toward the torn heavens above the Inverted Gate.
"I want him to see what his kingdom should have become."
He crushed the shard. Leo roared once in the real sky, then went silent.
Back on Solarae
Erza's squad stood before the portal.
Flames spiraled into a vortex of bronze and gold—a temporary gate forged from what remained of Leo's resonance. It flickered, unstable.
"If I don't come back," Erza said quietly, "don't chase me."
"Shut up," Seris said, stepping through first.
Korr grinned and followed.
Auren and Lysra exchanged a look and leapt.
Erza stood last, hand on his chest. The Leo Sigil sparked—then stabilized.
Not alone.
He stepped into the Gate.