The Weight of Power
Celestara slept under a silver dawn, but Lumiel was already awake.The Crimson Scythe rested across his lap, its blade duller than usual — the edges whispering faint static instead of song.
He turned it over slowly, tracing the runes along the spine. They pulsed weakly, like a heartbeat fading.
"You've carried me through gods and goblins," he murmured. "But you're still incomplete."
Kuroha yawned from the windowsill. "Talking to weapons now. Step one of divine insanity achieved."
"Step two," Lumiel said, smiling faintly, "is learning to make them talk back."
He stood, rolling up his sleeves. "Time to visit the Astral Forge."
Dual-State Awakening
Lumiel closed his eyes and let his consciousness divide again.His body remained grounded in Celestara's hidden workshop — an anvil of mirrorsteel, furnaces glowing with Nihility Fire.His astral self drifted upward into the Astral Deep, where mountains floated like sleeping beasts and rivers of starlight cut through the void.
Two worlds, one purpose.
Physical Lumiel began sorting tools and materials — dreamsteel ore, fallen star fragments, obsidian soulglass.Astral Lumiel drew the Crimson Scythe, its translucent edge flickering between light and shadow.
"Alright," Lumiel thought, both voices merging. "Body — craft. Soul — mine."
The Astral Mines
The Astral Deep was a graveyard of worlds.Mountains made of condensed emotion, caverns echoing with old prayers, and veins of Red Ore — crystallized data from forgotten gods.
Astral Lumiel plunged downward, the scythe cutting through floating rock like paper.Each swing sang differently — the rhythm of ore veins humming beneath his blade.
"This world breathes," he murmured."Everything here remembers being alive."
Kuroha's distant voice echoed through the mind-link.
"Focus on mining, philosopher. Unless you want me to invoice the reflections for existential rent."
Lumiel laughed softly and continued working, shards of red light scattering like embers.The scythe absorbed them greedily, its runes flaring brighter with each strike.
Forging in Flesh and Spirit
In the mortal forge, his body mirrored every motion.Hammer fell on anvil in rhythm with astral strikes — each echo rippling through dimensions.Every spark that flew from metal was mirrored by a streak of light across the Astral Sky.
He heated the dreamsteel ore with Nihility Fire, letting it melt into molten light.The Red Code flowed from his fingertips, carving runes directly into the glowing metal.
"Forged through dual existence," he whispered. "Shaped by what I destroy and what I save."
The anvil sang. The Red Code responded — a hum, then a voice:
Weapon Integration Detected. Initiating Resonance Sequence.
The Resonance
Both Lumiels — body and spirit — raised their hands at the same time.In one world, molten metal.In the other, fragments of divine ore.The Red Code wrapped around both, pulling them together through the dimensional tether.
When the fusion began, every mirror in Celestara cracked, every Astral mountain shuddered.The scythe absorbed the energy, its blade liquefying into light and reforming anew.
"Crimson Scythe, Version Two," Kuroha muttered. "Hopefully with fewer chances of exploding."
The weapon solidified — darker, sleeker, veins of living runes pulsing along its length.The air vibrated with power — a low, divine hum.
Lumiel swung once. The blade cut through space itself, leaving a lingering red line that stitched reality back together.
"Beautiful," Liora whispered from the workshop doorway."Terrifying," Daniel added behind her."Productive," Lumiel said, smiling faintly.
The Blacksmith's Revelation
He placed the reforged scythe on the anvil.The Red Code scrolled across its surface, forming new text in glowing runes:
Fragment VI detected — Ecliptic Node: Law of Balance.All weapons forged in duality gain the power of reflection and return.
The meaning struck him instantly.If the scythe struck a being born of pure darkness, it would return as light.If it struck light, it would return as shadow.
"The blade mirrors the soul of what it cuts," Lumiel said softly."Balance made into edge."
Liora looked at him with quiet awe. "You've made philosophy lethal."
"Wasn't it already?" Daniel muttered.
Closing Scene
Night settled across both planes.Lumiel stood alone at the forge, the Crimson Scythe glowing faintly beside him.The mirrors reflected Cartethyia's faint silhouette — a rose-haired elf watching from the in-between.
"You've begun shaping reality with meaning," she whispered. "Do you understand what that makes you?"
He met her gaze through the reflection. "A blacksmith with too much imagination."
She smiled faintly. "A creator who remembers compassion."
The light faded, leaving only the quiet hum of metal cooling — and the heartbeat of a weapon that no longer killed, but understood.