The Holy Cathedral of Luminas stood like a blade pointed at the heavens.
White marble pillars. Gold-threaded banners. Stained glass depicting divine triumph over shadow.
And at its center—
Judgment.
Kael walked alone across the vast cathedral floor.
Each step echoed.
Knights lined both sides of the aisle.
Watching.
Measuring.
Whispering.
He could feel it.
Fear.
Curiosity.
Resentment.
The incident in the eastern district had already fractured public opinion.
Some called him a savior.
Others called him the next calamity.
Darius waited at the far end, beneath a towering statue of the Radiant Goddess.
His golden eyes were sharper than before.
"You came," Darius said.
"You requested," Kael replied calmly.
There was no hostility in his tone.
That unsettled Darius more than defiance would have.
Behind them, massive cathedral doors sealed shut with a thunderous boom.
A barrier activated.
Golden light rippled across the walls.
Private interrogation.
"State your intent yesterday," Darius began.
Kael met his gaze evenly.
"To prevent destruction."
"You bonded a corrupted entity."
"I prevented its annihilation."
Darius stepped closer.
"You obstructed divine correction."
There it was.
Correction.
So they were aware of it too.
"Correction," Kael repeated softly. "Or execution?"
Darius' jaw tightened.
"Monsters exist to destroy. The Order exists to purge."
"And yet," Kael said, "the district stands."
Silence filled the cathedral.
Several high-ranking clergy observed from the balcony above.
Kael could feel their scrutiny like needles.
The dragon core beneath his ribs pulsed faintly.
Restless.
Not aggressive.
Just alert.
Darius' sword suddenly vibrated.
A hum of warning.
"You are no longer merely deviant," Darius said quietly. "You are unpredictable."
"That," Kael replied, "is not the same as evil."
Before Darius could respond—
The cathedral trembled.
A deep vibration rolled through the floor.
Not subtle.
Not distant.
Immediate.
The stained glass windows flickered.
Golden light cracked along the barrier walls.
A knight burst through the side entrance, breathless.
"Commander! Multiple manifestations across the capital!"
Darius turned sharply.
"Type?"
"Unknown! They're not standard corruption forms!"
Kael felt it instantly.
Resonance.
But not from his dragon.
From something deeper.
Something answering the earlier intervention.
Correction Phase Two.
Darius looked back at Kael.
Suspicion flared.
Kael shook his head once.
"This isn't me."
Another tremor.
Then a scream echoed from outside.
Darius made a decision instantly.
"All knights mobilize!"
He hesitated only a fraction of a second before looking at Kael.
"You're coming."
Not invitation.
Command.
Kael allowed a faint smile.
"Of course."
—
The capital was in chaos.
Three separate districts had erupted into fractures similar to the eastern incident.
But these were worse.
No single creature rising.
Instead—
Distorted figures crawled from cracks in reality itself.
Humanoid.
But elongated.
Golden fractures ran across their bodies like broken glass.
Not corruption.
Not shadow.
Light.
Twisted.
Civilians fled in panic.
Knights engaged.
But their blades passed through the creatures strangely—like striking reflections.
Kael stood at the edge of the plaza and analyzed.
The Abyss System flickered urgently.
> Anomaly Detected.
Classification: Narrative Correction Constructs.
Purpose: Remove Deviant Variable.
Kael exhaled slowly.
They weren't random.
They were sent.
For him.
One of the constructs turned its fractured face toward him.
Then another.
Then all of them.
Simultaneously.
Darius saw it too.
"They're targeting you."
"Yes."
"Explain."
"They are consequences."
The nearest construct lunged.
Darius intercepted instantly, blade blazing.
This time, the strike connected solidly.
But instead of bleeding—
The construct shattered.
Reforming seconds later.
"They regenerate!" a knight shouted.
Kael stepped forward.
"Light cannot erase them," he said calmly.
Darius shot him a sharp look.
"And you know how?"
"Yes."
Another construct charged directly at Kael.
He didn't retreat.
He placed his hand over his chest.
The dragon core flared.
Heat surged through his veins.
The System activated.
> Draconic Manifestation Level 1 Engaged.
Stability: 62%.
Black energy erupted from his back.
Not full wings—
But skeletal arcs of shadow-fire unfurled behind him.
Gasps echoed from the knights.
Golden eyes replaced his own.
The construct froze mid-lunge.
Instinct.
Recognition of a higher predator.
Kael stepped forward.
Shadow-fire wrapped around his arm.
He punched through the construct's chest.
Not destroying—
Consuming.
The fractured light cracked, then dissolved into darkness.
The construct did not reform.
Silence rippled outward.
Darius stared.
"That… was not Abyss."
"No," Kael replied softly.
"It was dragon."
Another construct attacked from behind.
Kael moved faster than before.
Enhanced physiology active.
He twisted, shadow-wings flaring, and unleashed a crescent of black flame.
Three constructs disintegrated at once.
But pain followed.
Sharp.
Burning.
His veins glowed faintly gold beneath the darkness.
Correction pushing back.
He gritted his teeth.
Not stable yet.
Darius joined him.
Light and shadow moved in tandem.
For the first time—
They fought beside each other.
Darius' blade shattered limbs.
Kael consumed cores.
One by one, the constructs fell permanently.
The final one stood in the center of the plaza.
Larger.
More refined.
Its voice echoed without a mouth.
"Deviation exceeds tolerance."
Civilians screamed.
Darius charged.
The construct raised a hand.
Golden threads descended from the sky, binding Darius mid-air.
He crashed to the ground.
Kael felt the threads tightening around him too.
The sky itself descending.
The dragon inside him roared.
Not fear.
Fury.
Kael released control.
Shadow-fire erupted violently outward.
Partial wings became massive for a brief moment.
A draconic silhouette formed behind him.
He stepped through the golden bindings as they burned away.
The construct lunged.
Kael met it head-on.
Claw met fractured light.
The impact split the plaza.
With a final roar—
He drove his arm through the construct's core and devoured it completely.
Silence fell.
The golden threads snapped.
The sky dimmed.
All manifestations vanished.
Kael stood at the center of destruction.
Breathing heavily.
Shadow wings dissolving slowly.
Golden eyes fading back to normal.
The dragon core pulsed erratically.
Pain crashed into him.
He dropped to one knee.
Darius approached cautiously.
"You… burned the sky," he said quietly.
Kael gave a weak smile.
"Only a thread."
Knights stared in stunned silence.
They had just witnessed something beyond doctrine.
Beyond scripture.
The one labeled villain had protected the capital.
Again.
But at what cost?
Kael coughed blood.
The dragon's power receded forcibly.
System warnings flooded his vision.
> Stability Critical.
Bond Strain 78%.
External Observation Intensifying.
Observation.
Not from the cathedral.
From beyond.
—
High above the clouds—
In a chamber of shifting light—
Figures watched.
Not gods.
Not mortals.
Editors of fate.
One spoke.
"He has integrated a fragment we erased."
Another replied.
"Hero proximity increasing."
"Accelerate escalation."
"Introduce Phase Three."
Below—
Kael lost consciousness.
—
He awoke in a quiet chamber.
Not the cathedral.
Not his estate.
Neutral ground.
Darius sat nearby.
No armor.
No blade drawn.
"You were unconscious for twelve hours," Darius said.
Kael slowly sat up.
"Casualties?"
"Minimal."
Good.
Darius studied him carefully.
"You destroyed entities born from divine correction."
"Yes."
"You manifested draconic power."
"Yes."
Silence.
Then Darius asked the question that mattered.
"Are you the enemy?"
Kael met his gaze steadily.
"If I were… would I have saved your city twice?"
Darius didn't answer immediately.
His world was shifting.
Scripture had no guidance for this.
Finally—
"The High Clergy want your arrest."
Kael nodded once.
"I expected that."
"They cannot," Darius continued quietly. "Public support is divided. And… I intervened."
Kael's eyebrow lifted slightly.
"Why?"
Darius looked away briefly.
"Because monsters do not shield civilians."
The dragon core pulsed faintly in agreement.
Kael stood slowly.
Pain still lingered, but manageable.
"This will not stop," Kael said.
Darius nodded grimly.
"I know."
A pause.
Then—
"If something worse comes… will you stand with us?"
Not as hero and villain.
But as allies.
Kael considered carefully.
The golden threads above were multiplying.
Phase Three coming.
"Yes," he said finally.
"For now."
Darius accepted that answer.
It was enough.
—
That night—
Kael returned to his estate.
Cedric nearly collapsed in relief upon seeing him alive.
But Kael barely listened.
He stood alone on his balcony.
Looking at the sky.
More fractures now.
Subtle.
But visible to him.
The dragon stirred weakly.
Wounded.
He placed a hand over his chest.
"Rest," he murmured.
A faint rumble responded.
Then—
A whisper not from the dragon.
From behind him.
"You've accelerated beautifully."
Kael turned instantly.
A woman stood in the shadows of his chamber.
Silver hair.
Eyes like shattered mirrors.
No presence.
No aura.
Which meant—
Extremely dangerous.
"You're not Order," Kael said calmly.
"No."
She smiled faintly.
"We are the ones who write corrections."
The air grew heavy.
"Observers?" Kael asked.
She tilted her head.
"You could call us that."
The dragon core flared in warning.
"We erased that dragon in twelve previous cycles," she continued softly. "You were not meant to bond it."
Kael's expression did not change.
"But I did."
"Yes." Her smile widened slightly. "And now the narrative is destabilizing."
"Then fix it," Kael said.
Her eyes sharpened.
"Oh, we will."
The temperature dropped.
"Phase Three begins soon," she whispered.
"And this time… we won't send constructs."
She stepped backward into shadow.
Vanished.
Kael stood alone again.
But this time—
He was smiling.
"They're finally coming in person."
Above—
The golden sky fractured again.
Far more violently than before.
And somewhere beyond mortal sight—
A throne of light shifted.
—