ARC II — "THE FALL OF THE FALSE GODS"
The smoke hadn't cleared.
The air still trembled with heat, a thousand fires painting the sky red.
Kurotsume stood alone in the center of the destruction — dust, ash, and silence swirling around him. His aura flickered faintly, silver streaks coiling like serpents in the air.
Vorak hadn't moved since his descent.
He stood on the carrier's edge, arms crossed, his presence radiating command. He didn't need to shout; his existence itself bent the world around him.
"You've improved,"* Vorak said, voice echoing across the ruined valley.* "Last time, you could barely breathe near me."
Kurotsume tilted his head slightly. "Last time, I was bored."
A few alien soldiers, still alive, exchanged uneasy glances — even they could feel it. The energy between the two wasn't battle-ready yet. It was building.
The demon's voice crawled into Kurotsume's mind.
"Careful, boy. He knows how to tear into thoughts. He did it to me once."
Kurotsume's gaze didn't waver. "Then he'll try again."
Vorak raised his hand slightly. "Still hiding behind that voice in your head?"
Kurotsume smirked faintly. "You'd be surprised what voices can do."
Vorak's aura darkened, shadows rippling across the sky. "You have no idea what you've merged with. That 'demon' you serve — it wasn't always a demon."
The words hit heavier than the air itself.
Siel, hiding behind the crumbled walls of a fallen spire, froze.
"Wasn't always…?" she whispered.
Vorak continued, tone surgical and calm.
"You think it found you. You think you were chosen. But the truth is…"
He extended his hand, and a sphere of black light appeared — spinning, pulsing. Within it, symbols shimmered — the same ones from the Book of Lies.
Kurotsume's pupils shrank. "Those marks…"
Vorak's voice deepened. "You read the book, didn't you? The one your people feared?"
Siel's breath caught.
"That book,"* Vorak said,* "was written by me."
Silence.
Even the wind seemed to stop.
The demon inside Kurotsume let out a guttural hiss.
"Lies!"
Vorak chuckled softly. "You really don't remember, do you?"
Kurotsume's jaw tightened. "Enough games."
But Vorak stepped forward, his steps leaving small craters in the ground. "That voice — the one you call 'demon' — it's not a spirit. It's a broken piece of me. A shard of my will, cast out long ago. The Book of Lies was my confession… the truth about what we are."
The demon's tone twisted — no longer angry, but pained.
"Don't listen, Kurotsume. He only wants control."
Vorak smirked. "He's not denying it, is he?"
Kurotsume said nothing. His aura flickered — unstable, chaotic.
Vorak extended his hand again, the sphere of black light swirling. Within it, a faint image formed — a younger Vorak, standing among stars, holding a crystal that looked almost identical to Kurotsume's heartmark.
"We weren't gods, Kurotsume,"* Vorak said softly.* "We were scientists. Explorers of worlds beyond the veil. But curiosity led us to something far worse — the source of all power. When I touched it, it shattered me… split my essence into fragments. The strongest piece became me. The weakest… became him."
The demon roared inside Kurotsume's skull, voice overlapping with static.
"That's not the whole truth! I didn't want his power — I wanted to stop him!"
"Quiet," Kurotsume murmured.
Vorak smiled faintly. "He lies because he fears you'll remember."
Siel whispered from afar, "Remember what…?"
Vorak's eyes met Kurotsume's. "That you were part of it."
Kurotsume's breath hitched for the first time.
"You were the first successful vessel,"* Vorak said.* "A hybrid made to host our lost fragments. The book wasn't a discovery, boy — it was your birth record."
The world seemed to tilt.
Memories flashed through Kurotsume's mind — flickers of light, laboratories, voices chanting, the word vessel echoing. Then fire. Screams. His mother's voice.
The demon's tone softened, whispering now.
"Don't let him rewrite your truth."
Vorak raised his hand again — shadows forming wings behind him. "You were created to carry me, Kurotsume. But now that you've stabilized the fragment, I can finally take it back."
Kurotsume's aura erupted — flames and black light spiraling violently. "Try it."
Vorak smirked. "Gladly."
He snapped his fingers.
The valley split open, revealing ancient runes beneath the soil — the same symbols from the Book of Lies glowing with impossible energy.
Siel fell to her knees as the entire land pulsed like a heartbeat. "He's turning the battlefield into a ritual…"
Vorak stepped down from the carrier, each step making the earth shake. "You've played soldier long enough. Now witness the truth of what you are."
The demon whispered frantically, "He's trying to rebind the fragment—he wants me back!"
Kurotsume cracked his neck, calm despite the chaos.
"Then he'll choke on it."
His aura condensed into a thin layer of silver flame around his body. He raised his hand toward the black sky.
"Let's see who owns this curse."*
Vorak grinned, eyes glowing crimson. "Welcome to your rebirth."
And as their auras collided, the world screamed.