Kael staggered to his feet, sword clutched tightly, his breath ragged and hoarse. Ash swirled around him, settling like snow upon the broken stones of the ruined monastery. The battle was over—but the world had shifted.
Above him hovered a vision of radiance.
An angel descended slowly, wings unfurled like banners of divine flame. Six in total—feathered, vast, and impossibly beautiful. She wore armor that shimmered like polished starlight, her eyes twin galaxies that saw into the soul.
He should have felt awe.
Instead, he felt the tension in his jaw. His body was still burning from the System's override. The fight against the Dreadlancer had pushed him to the edge of death. And now this celestial being—this creature of myth—hovered before him like some living statue of fate.
"Who... are you?" Kael managed to ask, voice rasping.
The angel's voice echoed across dimensions. It was not spoken—it was declared.
"I am Seraphiel, Warden of the Outer Skies. And you, Kael Drayven, are the System-Bearer foretold in the Prophetic Codices of the Veil."
[New Entity Detected: Seraphiel – Divine Rank – Allied]
[Questline Unlocked: The First Accord]
Kael blinked. "You… know what this thing is?" He gestured weakly at the hovering System panel beside him.
The angel's wings dimmed slightly, folding behind her like the closing of a vault door. "I know what you are becoming."
Kael said nothing.
Seraphiel floated downward until her feet touched the cracked ground. Her presence was warm—too warm. Like standing before a holy fire that could both comfort and cleanse.
"The System is not of your world," she continued. "It is a gift and a test—a fragment of what the gods left behind when the realms began to shatter. It seeks hosts—candidates capable of evolution."
"Why me?" Kael whispered. "Why not… someone stronger? Someone who's already a warrior?"
"You survived the first invasion," she said simply. "You didn't run. You chose to fight when even the heavens closed their eyes. The System chooses not the strongest—but the one who awakens."
Kael swallowed hard.
All around them, the ruins hissed as demonic blood evaporated in the holy radiance of her presence. The Dreadlancer's spear had disintegrated, leaving only its shard pulsing in Kael's inventory.
"What do I do now?"
Seraphiel stepped closer. "You have awakened the path of the Arcanoblade. That alone marks you as a deviation. A wildcard."
"Others have the System?"
"Yes," the angel said darkly. "But they are scattered across realms, and not all remain pure. Some have already succumbed to the Abyss."
Kael felt a chill trace his spine.
"You must grow stronger," Seraphiel continued. "If you fall now, this world will be devoured. The Rift that opened is only the first. Soon, others will come—and with them, the Legions of Xareth."
Kael gritted his teeth. "I can't fight armies alone."
"You won't."
[System Update: Party System Unlocked]
[Recruitable Allies Available in Zone: Emberfall Province]
"I will guide you toward them," she said. "But tread carefully. Not all who seek salvation are worthy of it."
Kael looked down at his shaking hands. They were bloodstained, bruised, calloused. He didn't feel chosen. He felt broken. But the choice was no longer his.
He raised his eyes.
"What do I do first?"
The angel turned toward the horizon, where fire still rose beyond the distant hills.
"There is a village two days from here—Emberfall. Demons have taken it. Survivors are rallying under a girl who bears the mark of the Flamecaller."
"Another System-Bearer?"
"Perhaps," Seraphiel said. "Or something else entirely."
[New Quest: Embers of Resistance – Reach Emberfall and protect the last survivor]
[Reward: 1000 XP, +1 Ally, Skill Scroll (Unknown)]
Seraphiel spread her wings. "Your trials begin now, Kael Drayven. The System is merely the first spark. Whether you become a hero, a tyrant, or a god… is up to you."
With that, she ascended, disappearing into a streak of divine light.
Kael stared at the empty sky for a long moment, the wind shifting the ash at his feet. Then, slowly, he turned his face toward the horizon.
Toward Emberfall.
Toward fate.