Chapter 2 — The First Death
The temple moaned under its own weight — the sound of stone remembering the time before silence.
Kael walked carefully through the endless corridors, each step echoing like a heartbeat in the dark. The carvings on the walls glowed faintly now, pale veins of dying power still pulsing beneath the stone. The air smelled of dust and forgotten prayers.
He had no food, no water, and no sense of time. Only the strange warmth in his chest — that whisper of something greater — guided him forward.
But then he heard it.
A scraping sound.
Slow. Wet. Close.
Kael froze. His eyes darted toward the far end of the hall, where shadows moved unnaturally. For a moment, he thought it was a trick of the light — until the shadow stood up.
It was wrong.
It was alive.
The creature crawled from the darkness — a tall, thin shape made of trembling smoke and bone. Its limbs cracked as it walked. Its head was nothing but a hollow pit of violet light, flickering like a star that refused to die.
Kael's mind trembled with recognition. He didn't know how he knew it — but he did. The name surfaced from the deepest corner of his soul.
> "Voidbeast."
The word was heavy. Ancient. Forbidden.
The creature turned toward him. Its empty face stared into his soul, and for a heartbeat, Kael saw another world — a war of gods and shadows, suns devoured by endless night. He saw himself burning like a god among them, wielding the light of creation itself.
Then the memory shattered.
The Voidbeast lunged.
Kael dove aside. Claws tore through the stone where he had been standing. Sparks burst into the air. He grabbed a fallen piece of metal — a broken spear — and swung it with every ounce of strength he had.
The impact cut through black smoke. No blood came, only dust and whispers. The creature laughed, a sound like broken glass grinding together.
Kael's heart thundered. His body moved faster than thought, guided by something deep — instinct older than his memory. He struck again, again, and again, but the Voidbeast only re-formed, its shape twisting and pulsing with dark life.
Then it struck.
A claw raked across his chest. Pain exploded. Kael flew backward, crashing into a pillar. Stone shattered, blood spilled. His breath caught — every inhale a blade. The Voidbeast stalked closer, each step shaking the ground.
> "You were never meant to awaken," it hissed. "This realm was your tomb."
Kael spat blood and lifted his head. "Then why do I still breathe?"
His hand burned — searing, bright.
Light flared from his palm, raw and violent, like a spark stolen from the heart of a dying star.
The Voidbeast hesitated. It knew that light. It had seen it before — when the gods still ruled the cosmos.
Kael rose, trembling. The light grew, swallowing the shadows around him. For the first time, the creature stepped back.
> "Who are you?" it whispered.
Kael's voice was low. "I wish I knew."
He thrust his arm forward. The light erupted — a storm of life and death colliding in one. The temple exploded with brilliance. The Voidbeast screamed, its body ripped apart in waves of burning radiance.
And then the world went white.
Kael felt the light consume him too — burning his arm to ash, tearing through flesh and soul alike. The power that had protected him now destroyed him.
He collapsed, his body shaking. The temple fell quiet once more.
As his vision dimmed, he saw flickers — stars dying, voices whispering his name, and a vast emptiness watching from beyond the veil of life.
> "This is only the first death," the voice said.
Kael smiled weakly. "Then I'll make the next one worth something."
And as darkness swallowed him, the god inside him stirred for the first time.
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Author's Note:
Even gods bleed before they remember what they are. 🌌
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