Rion fell through darkness.
For a moment, he thought the Rite was releasing him—
Then light flared beneath his feet, forming a platform of shifting memories.
Another vision rose like mist.
This time, he stood in—
The Celestial Court.
He had never seen it, but some instinct whispered the name to him.
White stairways twined upward like spines of giant beasts.
Halo-like rings floated in the air, humming with judgmental power.
At the center stood Azrath.
Not the small, silver-winged guardian he knew.
But Azrath in his true form:
Tall. Radiant. Wings of blinding light stretching endlessly into the sky.
Rion's breath caught.
Azrath looked… divine.
And yet—he stood in chains.
Bound by glowing runes that pulsed like a heartbeat.
Before him towered the High Seraph Council, the highest authority of the Order.
A voice thundered:
"Azrath Valen, Guardian of the Seraph-Echo… you stand accused of treason."
Rion staggered back.
"Treason…? Azrath…?"
Azrath didn't kneel.
He stared at the council with eyes full of fire.
"If protecting the child is treason, then carve the word into my wings."
Rion's heart thrashed against his ribs.
Another Seraph—a woman with six wings and eyes like molten stars—spoke coldly:
"You were told to deliver him to us for purification."
Azrath snarled.
"He's done nothing! He was just born! You fear a prophecy, nothing more!"
Rion felt dizziness seep through him.
A prophecy?
Azrath strained against the chains, feathers burning with heat.
"If you take him—if you touch him—there will be no forgiveness left in me."
Rion's chest tightened painfully.
The council whispered among themselves.
Then the eldest Seraph raised a hand.
"Then you have chosen your path."
The chains ignited—
Azrath screamed—
The memory shattered violently—
And Rion was thrown out of the vision.
---
Outside, in the real world
Azrath rammed himself into the divine barrier again.
Feathers flew like sparks. His wings dimmed with each impact.
But he didn't stop.
"LET ME IN!"
His voice cracked with a rage that shook even the trees.
Kaela tried to steady him.
"Azrath! You'll kill yourself!"
"I swore to protect him—!" Azrath slammed the barrier once more.
The holy light sizzled against him, burning his feathers black.
Inside the barrier, Rion's body trembled as the Rite dragged him deeper.
Azrath pressed both palms against the glowing wall.
Silver blood seeped from his fingers.
"Rion… hold on," he whispered.
"I won't let them twist your mind. Not again."
His wings flared—
Blinding, unstable, cracking with raw celestial power.
Kaela shielded her face.
"A-Azrath, your body can't handle this!"
Azrath's eyes blazed.
"I don't care."
He struck the barrier with all the strength of a dying star.
The forest screamed as the shockwave rippled outward.
The barrier flickered—
For a moment.
But did not break.
Azrath collapsed, shaking.
And the Rite continued.
---
Seraphine stepped back from the barrier, breath harsh.
Her spear trembled in her hands.
The Silent Saint stood motionless, watching Rion's trial.
Emotionless. Perfectly still.
Like a statue of judgment carved from moonlight.
Seraphine swallowed hard.
"Saint… cancel it. Now."
"I cannot," the Saint replied.
"The Rite is binding until the trial is complete."
"You don't understand!" she shouted.
"He's not what the Order believes he is!"
The Saint finally turned his head, mask glinting.
"And you… how would you know that, Seraphine?"
Her pulse quickened.
She could lie.
She could obey.
Or she could break everything she had sworn to.
Her grip tightened around her spear.
"…Because I've met him. Spoken with him. He isn't a monster. He isn't corrupted."
The Saint said nothing.
His silence pressed on her like the weight of mountains.
So she pushed further—
Crossing the line between duty and treason.
"I refuse to let the Order destroy another innocent child."
The Saint's fingers stilled.
"…'Another'?"
Seraphine realized what she'd said too late.
Her breath hitched.
But she didn't take it back.
She lifted her spear.
"If you won't stop the Rite, I will."
She took a single step toward the barrier—
And the Saint stepped into her path.
No words.
Just a silent warning.
Seraphine didn't step back.
Not this time.
---
The forest wind shifted.
A faint crack appeared along the Saint's barrier.
He stared at it—actually stared—and his shoulders stiffened.
That should not have happened.
Something in the Rite was changing.
The Saint's voice grew heavier, not quite steady:
"…This child should not have enough spiritual weight to strain the Rite. Something is… inconsistent."
Seraphine blinked.
For the first time since they'd met him—
The Silent Saint sounded uncertain.
She pressed the opening.
"You're doubting, aren't you?" she whispered.
"You're starting to see it too."
The Saint didn't answer.
But his hand tightened at his side.
---
Rion gasped as he landed on a new surface—another memory.
The air burned cold.
He stood at the entrance of the Celestial Court again, but this time it was crumbling… collapsing… as if the memory itself was unstable.
Azrath was there too—still chained—but older.
Tired.
Broken.
And before him…
A baby.
Wrapped in glowing cloth.
With white hair.
And mismatched eyes.
Rion's lungs stopped.
"That's… me…"
A figure in shimmering armor stepped forward and raised a blade over the infant.
Rion tried to scream but the memory drowned out his voice.
Azrath roared, breaking half his chains.
"You touch him, and I will tear your wings apart!"
The armored figure hesitated.
For a moment.
Then—
The blade fell.
Rion screamed—
The memory fractured—
And the world tore open—