The air was still, the scent of damp moss and dew clinging to the earth. Trees whispered faintly as if murmuring secrets to one another, and a gentle breeze danced through the golden leaves.
The forest had gone silent after the blinding flash, save for the faint hum that lingered where the light had fallen.
Jericho rose slowly, his breath trembling as he steadied himself on the damp soil. The warmth from the mark on his chest pulsed faintly — two wings wrapped in eternal flame. He looked around, confusion settling in his eyes. His bare feet sank into the moss as he turned, trying to understand where he was, or what he had become.
He whispered under his breath, his voice hoarse and uncertain,
"Where… am I?"
The forest did not answer — but somewhere distant, the sound of water flowing called to him, echoing softly through the towering trees. Drawn by instinct, Jericho began to walk toward it, unaware that the world itself was watching his rebirth.
Jericho froze mid-step as the familiar scent of soil and life filled his lungs — and in that instant, he knew.
He was home.
A faint, almost disbelieving smile crept across his face as warmth spread through his chest. The Great Forest of Dawn… the wind, the smell of rain-soaked bark — it was Earth. He was truly alive again.
But before the feeling could settle, his ears twitched.
A clash — faint but clear — rang through the trees. The sound of metal, followed by desperate cries. It was distant, yet his sharpened senses caught it as easily as a whisper in the dark.
Jericho's smile faded, his expression turning sharp and alert. He pivoted, the divine energy within him surging instinctively, and sprinted through the undergrowth with inhuman speed.
Leaves tore beneath his feet, branches snapped aside, the forest blurring past him in streaks of green and gold. He didn't realize the wind whipping around him exposed his mortal form — he was still bare, newly reborn — but his focus was fixed solely on the battle ahead, where mortals fought for their lives.
When Jericho burst through the last line of trees, the scene before him stopped him cold.
In a small clearing bathed in fractured sunlight. Unmoving bodies on the floor that looked like dried cocoon or shells that were once human, and three knights still fighting for their lives — two women and a man, their armor smeared with dirt and blood. Their blades clashed and sparked as they faced a nightmare that didn't belong to this world.
The creatures surrounding them were impossibly tall — seven feet at least — their bodies shaped like men but stripped of humanity. Their skin was pitch black, swallowing the light around them, and where their faces should have been, there was only void. Down their backs ran pale, bony ridges like exposed spines, glowing faintly white, pulsing with unnatural energy.
They moved with jerky, insect-like motions, silent except for the low hum that filled the air — a sound that crawled beneath the skin.
Jericho's eyes widened.
"These… aren't of this realm," he muttered under his breath. The energy they emitted was twisted, wrong — something that defied the laws of the gods and the mortal world alike.
Jericho steadied his breathing, the earth still warm beneath his bare feet. His body trembled — not from weakness, but from the lingering shock of rebirth. Still, he advanced.
The nearest creature lunged toward him with unnatural speed, its arm twisting like smoke. Jericho didn't hesitate.
He swung once — a single, instinctive punch — and the air itself seemed to crack.
The creature flew backward, crashing through two trees before its shadowed body disintegrated into dust. The sheer force of his strike sent a chill down Jericho's spine. He looked at his own hand, half-stunned.
"That… came from me?" he whispered, almost in disbelief.
Across the field, one of the lady knights fought with astonishing grace. Her movements were sharp, disciplined — every swing of her sword a blur of precision. She spun, dodged, and countered, cutting through the horde like a dancer of war. Jericho's eyes followed her; for a moment, he forgot the chaos, admiring her courage and skill.
But then the tide turned. Shadows closed in from every side, circling her. She ducked one strike, parried another — but her boot slipped on the damp soil. In that instant, the creatures pounced.
Before they could reach her, a flash of light tore through the air. Jericho appeared in front of her, his fist crashing into the ground. The shockwave sent the creatures flying like leaves in a storm. Dust rose, sunlight broke through the canopy, and silence fell for a heartbeat.
The lady knight stared at him, eyes wide, chest heaving. The sheer power she'd just witnessed left her speechless — and then realization struck her.
Her face went crimson.
"You're—!" she stammered, turning her face away instantly.
Jericho blinked in confusion, glancing down… and only then realized his divine form was still unclothed.
For the first time since his return, he felt truly mortal again.
The lady knight cleared her throat, straightening her armor with deliberate precision, as if trying to reassert some control over the surreal situation.
"As much as I'm grateful for the assist," she said, her tone carefully measured, "it's… really hard to feel thankful looking at you right now. Do you realize you're completely—naked? Are you secretly some kind of pervert, mister?"
Jericho's face burned hotter than the flames of his chest mark. Without thinking, he bolted behind a nearby tree, pressing his back against the rough bark. His pulse raced, matching the rapid thumping of his heart.
The knight sighed, shaking her head with an almost amused exasperation. She moved over to the wreckage of their supplies — bags torn apart by the ambush, weapons and personal effects scattered across the forest floor. From one of the ruined satchels, she pulled out a long black jacket and matching pants. She had been saving them in case it grew cold.
Without hesitation, she tossed them toward him.
Jericho, peeking out from behind the tree, caught the clothing mid-air, and mumbled a hurried, "Th-thank you," his voice small and awkward.
He quickly dressed, the fabric swallowing his still-shivering form. When he finally stepped back into view, the lady knight gave him a once-over, her lips twitching in the hint of a smile, though she said nothing.
Jericho's heart still pounded, not from the battle this time, but from the encounter itself.
The lady knight exhaled, a small smile tugging at her lips despite the chaos around them.
"Thank you," she said, her tone genuine. "Even if your… appearance was a little distracting, I can't deny what you just did. That was incredible. But… who are you? And how—"
Jericho shook his head, his eyes scanning the trees, every sense alert.
"I would love to answer all your questions," he said, voice calm but firm, "but this isn't the right time. We're still under attack. Once we survive this, I promise… answers."
The knight's eyes widened slightly, a flicker of surprise crossing her face, but she nodded in understanding.
"Very well," she said, gripping her sword tighter. "Then let's finish this first."
With that, the two of them launched back into the fray. Jericho's movements were a blur — strikes precise, devastating, and almost graceful in their power. The lady knight spun and slashed, her sword cutting arcs of light through the shadowed creatures, her agility and speed leaving no opening for them to exploit.
She wasn't destroying them, as the weapons of mankind are useless against them, but she was such a skilled and talented fighter that she had no trouble stunning them long enough for Jericho to finish them off.
The clearing became a storm of movement, steel flashing and shadows twisting, as the newly reborn god and the knight fought side by side — two forces, human and divine, against something that should never have existed in this world.
A deafening bang shattered the battle's rhythm. Jericho and the lady knight turned just in time to see their comrade launched high into the air, limp and unconscious.
"Alice!!!" the knight screamed, horror and panic etched across her face.
Without a second thought, Jericho's body moved faster than thought itself. With godly agility, he leapt, soaring into the sky like a streak of shadow and light. He caught Alice effortlessly, her body heavy in his arms.
As he began his descent, the wind roaring past his ears, his mind raced. "{I have to protect her… I can't let her hit the ground."}….
He drew a deep breath, closing his eyes. For the first time, he let the power within him — his soul energy — awaken and flow freely. It hummed through his veins, raw and brilliant. From it, a silver liquid began to form, dripping and swirling around him, shaping itself into a protective cocoon. It wrapped around him and Alice, shimmering like quicksilver, cushioning their fall like a bubble of liquid metal.
They touched the forest floor gently, the impact barely a whisper. Jericho opened his eyes, panting slightly, and looked down at Alice, ensuring she was safe.
The lady knight who had been fighting alongside him stared in utter astonishment, her sword lowering slightly.
"…Just… who are you?" she whispered, awe and disbelief lacing her voice. "Stranger… what… what just happened?"
Jericho, still catching his breath, gave her a small, wry smile, a mixture of embarrassment and calm confidence.
"Someone who's… just getting started," he replied softly, though inside, a fire of purpose had been ignited.
Jericho gently lowered Alice into the lady knight's care. "Keep her safe," he commanded, his voice calm but resolute. Without waiting for a reply, he leapt back into the fray, disappearing like a shadow among the chaos.
The male knight gritted his teeth, one arm bent at a painful angle, the other still clinging tightly to his sword. Despite the broken arm, he was holding his ground against two of those creatures, their black forms twisting and jerking unnaturally.
Suddenly, a flash of silver caught his eye — a liquid-like substance, forming in the air as if guided by intent. It took the shape of a fist and shot forward faster than thought itself.
WHAM!
The fist collided with the nearest creature, sending it hurtling backward. It disintegrated into ash before it could touch the ground.
The male knight barely had time to process what he'd seen before a voice cut through the chaos, calm and commanding:
"Take cover!"
The knight's brow furrowed in confusion. Who could be speaking from amidst the fight? But instinct won over curiosity. He ducked behind a cluster of trees, watching as the silver liquid moved again — this time protecting him from an incoming strike.
From the corner of his eyes, he caught sight of Jericho — moving like a phantom, fast, precise, and impossibly strong. Each strike, each motion, left trails of silver energy in its wake, disintegrating the creatures with surgical precision.
The knight's confusion gave way to awe, his voice barely above a whisper:
"Who… who are you?"
Jericho stretched his hands toward the remaining Creatures. The sky above him responded as if obeying his will. Darkness rolled in swiftly, clouds twisting and whipping into a furious wind. The male knight clutched the nearest tree desperately, trying not to be swept away by the sudden gale.
"Soul Casting… Sliver Rain" Jericho called.
Then it began. Silver droplets, glimmering like liquid mercury, fell from the darkened sky. They weren't ordinary rain — each droplet moved with a mind of its own, piercing the creatures wherever they tried to flee. The creatures writhed and twisted, but there was no escape.
The vegetation in the area fared no better. Leaves, grass, even the smallest branches disintegrated at the touch of the silver rain, leaving nothing but scorched, blackened earth in its wake. The forest itself seemed to shudder, as if acknowledging the magnitude of the power it had just witnessed.
With a final snap of his fingers, Jericho ended the silver storm. The clouds vanished, the wind died down, and sunlight returned to the Great Forest of Dawn.
Silence followed — absolute and complete. Not a creature remained, not a trace survived. Only destruction remained, a testament to the god who had descended upon the battlefield.
The male knight stared, wide-eyed, his broken arm shaking.
"What… what just happened?" he whispered, barely finding his voice. His mind struggled to comprehend the devastation he had just witnessed.
Jericho turned to him, calm and composed, yet with the weight of divine power still lingering around him like a halo. Then realization struck as he looked around.
"I think I might have over done it a little" Jericho said with a nervous smile.
"You Think?!" The male knight exasperatedly responded, still processing what he just saw, from someone that wasn't in the army of Jace…. At least he hoped he wasn't.