ARC II — "THE FALL OF THE FALSE GODS"
The moon hung low, a broken scar across the sky.
The forest was dead quiet—no wind, no insects, only the faint hum of something ancient beneath the soil.
Kurotsume walked through the ruins of a forgotten village. The houses were burnt to ash; charred bones scattered across the ground. He said nothing. His eyes moved slowly over the destruction, his aura dim and steady—like a calm sea hiding a storm.
Then—
"You never change, do you?"
The voice came from behind, soft but cutting through the silence like a blade.
Kurotsume stopped. He didn't turn. "You again."
Siel stepped out from behind a fallen pillar, her silver hair streaked with soot, her weapon strapped across her back. The last time they met, she had walked away without a word. Now she looked… cornered.
"You said you didn't need allies,"* she said quietly. "Yet here you are—standing in the middle of what used to be a home."
Kurotsume finally turned his head slightly, eyes half-lidded.
"I still don't need them. Just answers."
Siel frowned. "Answers?"
He knelt, brushing the dirt off an old stone tablet. The symbols glowed faintly under his touch—ancient markings, eerily similar to those in the Book of Lies.
"You remember the book, right?"* he said, voice low. "The one that told me they weren't gods?"
Siel nodded slowly. "The one you risked everything for."
Kurotsume's expression didn't change. "There was something else in that book. Something I didn't notice before."
"What?"* she asked.
He looked at her, eyes cold and sharp.
"A whisper. A voice that said one word."*
The air went still.
Siel hesitated. "What word?"
Kurotsume rose, the blue in his eyes flaring faintly. "Aliens."
That word alone seemed to change the air around them. The ground pulsed—faint vibrations, almost alive.
Siel's voice trembled slightly. "You're saying the gods—the ones we've been told created everything—"
"—are just invaders," Kurotsume finished. "Creatures from somewhere else. Pretending to be divine."
The demon's voice rumbled in his mind, dark and amused.
"He remembers the truth. Finally."
Siel looked at him warily. "That voice… that wasn't yours, was it?"
Kurotsume's lips curved faintly. "No. But it's been waiting for me ever since."
She stepped closer, lowering her voice. "You think this has something to do with Vorak?"
He shrugged. "Vorak's just a soldier. There's something above him. Something older."
Before she could answer, the ground shook violently. Trees bent backward as a tremor tore through the valley. In the distance, red lights flickered in the sky—dozens of them, forming a pattern like a swarm.
Siel's eyes widened. "They found us."
Kurotsume didn't flinch. His voice stayed calm. "They were bound to."
She turned to him. "We have to go—"
"No," he interrupted. "You have to go."
"And you?"*
Kurotsume stared into the horizon, where the red glow grew brighter. "I'll slow them down."
Siel clenched her fists. "You can't fight an army alone."
He gave her a small, dry smile. "Watch me."
Before she could argue again, his aura exploded outward—an invisible wave that sent dust and leaves spiraling through the air.
Siel shielded her eyes, shouting over the wind. "Why do you keep doing this?!"
Kurotsume's voice cut through the storm, calm and clear.
"Because someone has to remind them they're not gods."
The demon's laughter echoed faintly as the red lights drew closer—ships breaking through the clouds, hundreds of them, engines screaming.
Kurotsume's shadow stretched across the burning earth, the glow of his aura painting the ruins blue.
Siel took a step back, fear mixing with awe. "You'll die."
He looked over his shoulder, smirked, and said,
"Then I'll make sure it's worth watching."
The sky tore open. Alien carriers descended like falling stars, casting crimson light over the ruins.
And as the first blast struck the ground, the world erupted into chaos.