☀️ When the Sky Betrays You
The first sun died at dawn.
Not because Lucien willed it—but because the gods could not forgive him.
He stood atop the throne of bones, the wind dragging ash across his face. Below, the Undying Court rallied—thousands of undead knights, war machines, winged horrors. The world itself had gone quiet since Ardana's sacrifice.
Until the heavens cracked.
Two suns now hung in the sky. One—bright and golden. The other—burning red like fury incarnate.
Kaelira narrowed her eyes. "Solar twins. Weapons of the Celestials. They're not stars. They're living avatars."
"Living," Velka echoed, "but not divine. The gods fear to descend directly… so they send these to purge us."
Lucien looked up.
The red sun pulsed once.
And then—it fell.
🔥 Sunstorm
The red sun screamed as it plummeted, the sky ripping apart behind it. It wasn't fire—it was rage made flesh, a titan of burning metal and divine wrath, a celestial warform called Sol'Mireth, the Herald Pyre.
It struck the battlefield like a comet.
Everything shook.
Hundreds of undead were vaporized in an instant.
A crater formed the size of a city.
And from the fire stepped a twelve-meter tall figure of molten gold and divine flame, a sword of sunstone gripped in one hand and a burning cross in the other.
Its voice shattered glass in three realms.
"You defied the Light.
You wear a crown of filth.
Burn."
⚔️ First Clash: Lucien vs Sol'Mireth
Lucien didn't hesitate.
With a surge of Crownlight, he launched himself forward, the Throne pulsing behind him, the Court rallying in his wake.
The first clash rang like the death knell of a world.
Sol'Mireth swung, and reality bent. Lucien parried with an obsidian soulblade, the recoil sending shockwaves through the realm.
Behind him, Serael raised a dome of divine flame to protect the army.
Velka called a blizzard so cold it fractured time.
Nerexa unleashed a chain of void-born hounds that bit into Sol'Mireth's armor.
Still, the Herald advanced.
Still, Lucien stood.
🧠 A Flaw in Perfection
Thal'Zira chanted in ancient bloodtongue, her magic weaving into the storm.
"Lucien," she called out mid-battle. "There's something wrong with it. It's too perfect. Too stable. That's not celestial fire—it's regulated."
Lucien ducked a sunblade, sparks searing his cloak. "You're saying it's controlled?"
"Yes," Kaelira hissed. "There's a pilot. A mind beneath it. A mortal one."
Lucien's eyes narrowed.
He opened the Crown—not fully, but just enough to see into Sol'Mireth's soul.
And there it was.
A heart.
A prisoner.
⚡ Breaking the Sun
Lucien broke from the fight, gathering all his magic.
"Cover me!" he shouted.
Velka raised a dome of frost and blood. The other queens unleashed their fury, staggering the Herald.
Lucien lifted both hands.
And for the first time since taking the Throne—he cast soulfire resurrection in reverse.
Not to raise the dead.
To pull the soul from the living.
A beam of inverted light struck Sol'Mireth's chest.
The titan screamed.
It buckled. Cracked.
And from within its core, a girl fell.
Young. Mortal. Eyes wide with pain and fear.
The titan collapsed.
The sun went out.
🕯️ The Girl Inside the Sun
She gasped, choking on air.
Lucien caught her before she hit the ground.
She was no older than seventeen. Her body was scarred with brands of divinity. Chains of light still clung to her soul.
Nerexa scanned her. "She was used. Bound. Like a battery."
"She's a seer," Serael said. "The gods raised her to power their sunform."
Lucien looked into her eyes.
"Can you speak?"
She nodded faintly.
And then whispered:
"The second sun… is coming.
And it won't be kind."
🖋️ End of Chapter 10
📣 CTA (Call-to-Action)
What do you think the second sun is? Another weapon… or a god in disguise?
⚔️ Drop a comment: What would you do with the girl rescued from the Herald?
🔜 Next Chapter: "The Sun That Hunts"
The second sun descends—smaller, faster, and sentient. This one doesn't just burn. It thinks. And it remembers the last Necroking.