A god descended—but so did something worse.
---
The village burned at dawn.
Not because Silas hated the people.
Not because Naomi ordered it.
But because the first Trial had arrived—and it demanded blood.
The skies cracked open like brittle bone.
A flame-colored eye blinked in the heavens, casting an amber glow over the forest. Birds fled. Trees caught fire from a heat that had no origin. The dirt itself began to smoke.
Silas stood barefoot in the ash, golden eyes narrow.
Naomi walked up beside him, barefoot as well, her threads drifting like ghosts behind her.
"You feel that?" he asked.
Naomi nodded. "A god. Close."
"Name?"
She closed her eyes. Threads snapped and reformed in mid-air.
"Rhaelon. God of Purity. Flame-bound. Veyros's pet."
Silas cracked his neck. "And what does he want?"
"To test us."
A sound split the world—a trumpet made of screaming.
A beam of white fire erupted from the sky, vaporizing the center of the village. The people never had a chance. Children. Elders. Everyone Mira once fed. Gone in an instant.
Naomi's fists trembled.
Silas grinned. "You wanted to stop me from doing it. But now someone else lit the match."
She said nothing.
Then, through the smoke, a man descended.
Or what looked like one.
Rhaelon. Eight feet tall. Cloaked in white flame, armor etched with divine runes. His voice, when it came, rang inside their heads like molten steel:
> "SIN-BEARER. THREAD-WEAVER. YOU ARE ANOMALIES. THIS WORLD IS PURE. YOU ARE NOT."
Silas stepped forward. "Neither is your sky."
> "SUBMIT TO PURIFICATION."
"No."
Silas extended his hand.
> [Sin Invoked: WRATH — Level 2]
[Sin Invoked: ENVY — Level 1 — Target: Divinity Core]
A shockwave rippled outward.
Naomi unleashed her threads, forming dozens of shifting blades.
> [Ability: Fate Severance — Target: Divine Anchor Threads]
Rhaelon moved, fast as light.
But not faster than Naomi.
One thread snagged his ankle.
He faltered.
Silas surged forward, blade in hand, but Rhaelon twisted midair, unleashing a cone of divine fire. The blast shredded half the battlefield, turning trees to molten stumps and sending Silas skidding across the ground.
He landed hard. Bones cracked.
But he was laughing.
Naomi didn't pause. Her threads slashed across Rhaelon's thigh, splitting armor. Blood—if it could be called that—gushed like molten silver.
The god turned and screamed—not in pain, but fury. He launched himself at her, fists cloaked in flame.
She ducked, spun, and wove a time thread between his ribs.
The god stopped mid-punch, gasping.
Silas reappeared behind him, eyes glowing.
"Greed."
He tore out a piece of divine marrow.
Rhaelon howled, spinning and catching Silas across the face with a backhand that broke his jaw.
Blood sprayed. Silas stumbled.
But Naomi caught him with a thread, reweaving the bones in his cheek as he charged again.
> [Sin Invoked: GLUTTONY — Level 3: Partial Soul Rend]
Silas bit into the god's shoulder—literally. His teeth cracked divine skin, devouring light.
Rhaelon staggered.
"YOU ARE BLIGHT," he roared.
"No," Naomi hissed, dragging a thread through his eye. "We're the cure."
Rhaelon collapsed to one knee.
But he wasn't done.
He exploded into a nova of light, forcing them both back. Naomi's robes caught fire. Silas's skin bubbled.
The god rose, half his face gone, core glowing in his chest.
"YOU. WILL. BURN."
He summoned a sword of starfire. The air ignited around it.
He struck Silas in the stomach—straight through.
Silas coughed blood.
Naomi screamed, tearing time itself apart.
Silas smiled through the blood. "Sloth."
The god slowed.
Just enough.
Naomi stabbed her threads through his core.
He froze.
Silas leaned in. "Pride."
And the god detonated from within.
Light swallowed everything.
---
When the world returned, there was only silence.
Ash fell like snow.
Naomi pulled herself upright, burned and shaking.
Silas stood slowly, blood soaking his front, but alive.
A small orb pulsed in the ash—a divine spark.
Silas picked it up.
> [You have obtained: Divine Spark – Low-Tier]
[World Trial: 1 Cleared]
[Unlocking World Path: Aetherion – Sector 2: City of Glass Faith]
Naomi looked at him.
"You nearly died."
"I always do."
She paused.
"Why didn't you stop?"
He looked at her—bloody, grinning, unrepentant.
"Because I wanted him to feel everything."
She stared.
And didn't argue.
They walked away, flames at their backs.
---