The city had never been so quiet.
After the blinding light and the storm of wings, all that remained was silence the kind that pressed against the heart, heavy and cold.
Elias carried Aiden through the rain, his body limp but still faintly glowing beneath the torn fabric of his shirt.
The streets were empty, washed clean by the storm.
Every step left a trail of golden dust that vanished before it could touch the ground.
They reached an alleyway near the river old, hidden, forgotten.
Elias placed his hand on a rusted door, whispered a word no mortal tongue could form.
The metal trembled, then dissolved into mist.
Beyond it lay a narrow staircase spiraling downward into a cathedral buried beneath the earth.
Lanterns flickered to life as they descended, revealing murals of angels crying tears of ash and broken halos scattered across the floor.
"What is this place?" Aiden murmured weakly.
"A sanctuary," Elias said. "For those the heavens deemed unworthy."
The underground chamber was vast pillars carved with ancient runes, stained glass windows half-buried in stone.
At its center stood a cracked statue an angel kneeling, its wings shattered, its face turned toward the ground.
Elias laid Aiden gently at the statue's base, brushing damp hair from his forehead.
"Rest," he said. "You burned too much power."
"And you… you fought an angel," Aiden whispered. "That can't be easy, even for you."
Elias gave a small, humorless smile.
"I've had worse fights. Most of them with myself."
Aiden tried to laugh, but it turned into a cough. "You sound like you've given up."
"I gave up a long time ago," Elias admitted softly. "But then you"
He stopped himself. The words hung between them, unfinished.
Before Aiden could speak, another voice echoed through the chamber low, ancient, trembling with power.
"He hasn't given up. Not yet."
Both turned sharply.
From the shadows beyond the statue, a figure emerged barefoot, draped in white robes torn and stained with something dark.
His eyes glowed faintly, not with light, but with grief.
"Who are you?" Elias demanded, his blade half-drawn.
The stranger smiled weary, knowing.
"Once, they called me a god."
Aiden's heart skipped. "A god?"
"The first who wept for humanity," the man said. "And the last who defied Heaven for love."
He turned his gaze toward Elias. "We are not so different, you and I, Forsaken Knight."
Elias stiffened. "If you're truly one of them, then why are you here?"
The god stepped closer, his bare feet leaving faint ripples in the water pooling across the floor.
"Because I, too, was punished for caring too deeply."
"Because I remember what it means to love a flame that was never meant to be touched."
Aiden frowned. "You mean… Ariselle?"
The god shook his head. "I mean you, child. You are her echo the continuation of what the gods feared most: free will bound by love."
The air shimmered.
The cracked statue behind them began to glow, soft golden tears running down its face the same glow that lived inside Aiden.
"The heavens believe power must serve order," the god said, his voice breaking. "But love... love destroys order. It bends fate. It defies reason. That is why they fear you."
Elias clenched his fists. "Then tell me how to stop them."
The god's eyes softened. "You cannot stop the heavens. But you can change them."
"How?" Aiden asked, sitting up despite the pain.
"By embracing what you both are. The Flame cannot burn alone, and the Forsaken cannot survive without its warmth. Together, you are the balance they denied."
Aiden looked at Elias and for the first time, saw something raw in his eyes: hope, fragile and dangerous.
"But every time we're together," Aiden said quietly, "the world breaks a little more."
The god smiled sadly. "Then rebuild it. In your image."
His form began to fade, light scattering like dust.
"One day," he whispered, "the heavens will learn what even gods forget that tears are the purest form of prayer."
And then he was gone.
Elias stared at the spot where the god had vanished, his expression unreadable.
"A god who weeps," he murmured. "I thought such a thing couldn't exist."
Aiden lay back, exhausted but smiling faintly.
"Maybe it's proof that even gods make mistakes."
Elias looked down at him, the corners of his lips softening.
"Then we'll make ours count."
Above them, unseen by mortal eyes, the heavens trembled.
A single tear fell from the sky a divine drop that burned through the clouds and struck the earth below.
And in that moment, for the first time in eons…
A god truly wept.