The skies above the Lower Realm were still torn, echoes of battle fading into the stillness of aftermath. But elsewhere, far beyond mortal perception, in the skies above the stars, another world stirred.
---
The Middle Realm: City of Celestial Dominion
High above the mortal continents floats the Middle Realm, suspended in the multiversal plane between the Lower and Upper Realms. It's a place of divine brilliance and impossible architecture — floating citadels, crystalline towers, and eternal flame gardens. Magic and law rule here alike.
In the heart of the realm lies Sablehallow Spire, the seat of power, where the Council of Sovereigns reigns — a group of ten beings, each lords of a faction that governs the balance of the Realms.
Today, the Council Chambers trembled with unease.
A report had just been delivered by the envoy who confronted Alen.
He didn't walk back.
He crawled — bloody, trembling, his golden armor cracked, one eye burned, and his aura torn.
He spoke just one name before collapsing in fear:
"Gravon Redmaw…"
A silence, ancient and absolute, fell upon the council.
---
The Council's Reaction
The High Marshal of Discipline, a god-warrior clad in obsidian armor, stood abruptly.
"That name… is forbidden in these halls."
The Mistress of Realmsight, her third eye glowing with cosmic light, spoke slowly.
"He walks again… Gravon Redmaw. The Crimson Butcher. The World-Breaker."
The Grand Keeper, oldest of them all, trembled.
"Summon the Oracle. Confirm it. If the Lion returns… the pact still binds us."
They turned to the floating mirror of fate at the chamber's center. Runes glowed. Energy swirled.
And there he was. Gravon Redmaw — crimson-cloaked, silver-maned, his left eye a burning sun. Standing beside his grandson, protecting the young cub as if death itself answered to him.
---
The Law of the Cub – Revealed
Carved in stone, bound in soul, and sealed in blood, the Law of the Cub had once been declared by the Crimson Lion Clan at the height of their power, during the Celestial Eclipse War.
"The cub of the Crimson Lion is sacred.
No god, no king, no realm may touch them.
To do so is to declare war against the Pride Eternal."
The Council knew the consequences. The last time a Middle Realm sovereign defied the law…
An entire floating kingdom had been pulled from the skies.
The City of Twelve Suns had been obliterated in three roars.
The Middle Realm lost four Divine Lords… and one continent.
---
The Pact of Bloodfire
The pact was older than memory, signed in flame by the leaders of the Middle, Lower, and Upper Realms after Gravon Redmaw's last war.
In exchange for Crimson Lion's withdrawal from inter-realm war, the Middle Realm would never interfere with the Lion clan's internal matters.
The Law of the Cub would be respected by all Realms.
Any violation would nullify the pact… and allow the Lions to return to conquest.
Now that Gravon had invoked the law in public — witnessed across all Realms — the pact was active.
---
Council's Crisis
Grand Keeper (grimly):
"We cannot act. We must not act. The law is older than any of us."
Mistress of Realmsight:
"But that child, Alen… he slaughtered millions."
High Marshal:
"Then let the Realms mourn the dead. We will not awaken the Beast of Crimson again."
The Council voted.
Unanimous abstention.
No action would be taken against Alen. Not until Gravon Redmaw was dead.
And even then… vengeance would risk annihilation.
---
Closing Scene: Shadows Watch
Far in the void beyond the stars, in a hidden temple of the Upper Realm, a figure in black sat alone watching the events unfold.
"The Lion's blood roars again," he whispered.
"And the cub… has teeth."
He smiled.
"Let the hunt continue."
---