Temple of Gaia, Eastern Kaelith
The air inside the temple was heavy with smoke and the bitter tang of blood. Selene knelt before the shattered altar, her pale hands trembling as they pressed to the cracked stone. White robes, once spotless, were streaked with soot and crimson.
The temple of Gaia had stood for centuries as a sanctuary. Now, its marble columns lay split down the middle, and sacred pools reflected only rubble and fire. Statues of the Mother, carved from jade and ivory, were broken at the waist, their faces missing. Outside, the city of Kaelith burned. The cries of the dying cut through the night like knives, echoing with every breath she took.
Selene closed her eyes, whispering a prayer that felt feeble against the enormity of the slaughter.
"Mother Gaia… shield your children. Do not let us fall into the jaws of the void."
The mark on her wrist—a blossom of emerald light—flared faintly, proof that her goddess still lingered despite the suffocating despair.
"Selene…"
The whisper curled in her mind, gentle yet strained. It was Gaia.
Selene bowed low, voice breaking. "Great Mother… the invaders show no mercy. The city crumbles. Where are the gods? Why do you not act?"
For a heartbeat, only silence. Then the goddess's voice returned, faint and sorrowful.
"We have awoken, but we are weakened. The veil that shielded your world drains us still. And in the breach, others move against you."
Selene's throat tightened. "Others?"
"I fear… Chaos has stirred."
The name froze her blood. Chaos. The first breath, the last silence. The primordial that even the gods had feared.
"Chaos… is awake?" Her voice was barely a whisper.
"Yes. His essence has found a mortal vessel. A boy."
Her chest constricted. "A boy? Then… is this salvation?"
"Salvation, or ruin… I cannot say. Chaos brings change. But change cuts both ways."
Selene's heart pounded. She had studied the prophecies, the forbidden scrolls buried in the temple's vaults. They had spoken of a spiral mark, of a child who would bear the void's legacy. A child who could either save their world—or end it.
"Where is he?" she whispered.
"West. In the ruins of Kaelith's outer district. Watch for him, Selene. For through him, Euphoria's fate shall be forged."
The connection faltered. The mark on her wrist dimmed.
Before she could call out again, the temple walls shuddered—
BOOOOM!
Dust rained from the cracked ceiling as a crimson light split the smoke-filled sky. Selene's breath caught. The Thasaract were here.
She rose, clutching her staff, her emerald eyes fixed toward the western horizon where the flare of Chaos's awakening pulsed like a black star.
---
Kaelith, Outer District
The night reeked of ash and blood.
Kieran stumbled after the survivors, his small legs aching, lungs burning with every step. The streets of Kaelith, once alive with laughter and lanterns, were nothing but ruins and shadow. Buildings leaned half-collapsed, their banners torn to ash. The cobblestones were slick with blood.
"Stay close," the older girl whispered, her grip tight on his hand. She was barely older than him, maybe fourteen, but her face was hard with fear.
Ahead, a broad man with dark hair—Darius, the one they called captain—walked with grim determination, a battered sword in his hand. Beside him, a young mage's staff glowed faintly, casting fragile light over the wreckage. Behind them limped a boy no older than sixteen, clutching a spear though his arms shook with the effort.
They were all that remained of the group that had tried to flee.
Kieran forced himself not to look at the bodies strewn across the street. Neighbors. Guards. Children younger than him. If he let himself see them, he'd collapse. He couldn't. Not now.
Then came the sound.
BOOM!
The earth shuddered. Dust poured from a broken archway ahead as a crimson light flared through the smoke.
"They've found us," Darius muttered, raising his blade.
The mage's face paled. "Not again…"
Out of the haze came a towering figure—seven feet of blackened armor, veined with pulsing crimson light. Its helm gleamed like molten glass, and in its hands it carried a blade that hummed with a low, menacing thrum.
A Thasaract soldier.
Kieran froze. His body refused to move.
"Brace!" Darius roared.
BOOOOM! The soldier charged, cobblestones cracking under its massive steps.
CLAAANG!
Darius met the first strike head-on. Sparks burst like stars in the dark. The shockwave sent the survivors stumbling back, nearly knocking Kieran off his feet.
The mage thrust her staff forward. A wall of light shimmered into being—
CRAAAACK!
The soldier's second strike split it down the middle, the barrier fracturing like glass.
"We can't hold it!" the mage cried.
The boy with the spear lunged, his weapon trembling. THUD! The blow bounced harmlessly off the armor. The soldier swiped. WHAM! The boy flew into a heap of rubble, coughing blood.
"No!" the girl beside Kieran screamed.
Kieran's pulse thundered. The mark on his arm seared. Shadows writhed out like smoke caught in a storm.
"Survive… Struggle… Awaken."
The voice filled him, vast and cold.
The Thasaract's visor burned crimson as it turned toward him. Kieran's chest seized under its gaze.
"Boy!" Darius shouted. "Whatever you did before—do it now!"
"I—I don't know how!" Kieran gasped, clutching his arm.
The Thasaract raised its blade. WHOOSH! It screamed downward.
The spiral flared.
BOOOOM!
Shadows erupted, the ground splitting in black-veined cracks. Stones shattered and dust spiraled into the air.
The soldier staggered, strike thrown wide. CRAAASH! A wall collapsed in a hail of debris.
Kieran screamed, shadows lashing out. KRRSHH! They coiled around the Thasaract, binding its limbs.
The mage stared, horrified. "By the gods…"
The spiral pulsed harder, faster. THUMP-THUMP! THUMP-THUMP! Kieran's body convulsed as power ripped through him, whispering to devour, unmake, consume.
The Thasaract roared, tearing one arm free. KRRRSHH! Its blade blazed red as it swung straight at him.
CLAAAANG! Darius intercepted again, sparks flying as steel met alien alloy. "Now, boy! Finish it!"
"I—I can't!" Kieran cried, eyes burning with tears.
The mage's shield shattered. SHIIIIIING—CRASH! Fading light scattered across the stones.
The girl clung to him, screaming his name.
And then—
WHOOOOM!
The spiral imploded, shadows collapsing inward with crushing force.
CRUNCH!
The Thasaract flew backward, smashing into a half-fallen wall. KRRRAAASH! Stone exploded around it as its armor split, sparks spitting crimson.
It twitched once. Then fell still.
Silence. Only the sound of ragged breathing remained.
Kieran collapsed, gasping, the spiral dimming to a faint, unsettling glow. His whole body shook, hollow and drained.
The girl wept into his shoulder.
The mage approached slowly, staff raised as though Kieran himself might strike. "That… that was no blessing of Gaia."
Darius crouched before him, eyes sharp. "No," he said quietly. "It was something older."
Kieran's lips trembled. "I… didn't mean to…"
Darius set a steady hand on his shoulder. "Then you'll learn. Because whatever that was—it kept us alive."
Kieran's gaze shifted to the shattered soldier. The spiral pulsed faintly, as if it were watching, waiting.
He didn't feel like a savior. He felt like a child who had set fire to the world.
And yet… in the heavy silence, he couldn't shake the feeling that the world was now watching him back.