The palace stood in silence.
Its towering pillars, carved from ancient stone, reflected the fading light of the evening sky. Usually, the halls were alive with movement—gods walking with purpose, demigods training, voices echoing through the vast corridors.
But tonight…
Something was different.
Heron felt it the moment he stepped inside.
The air was heavier.
Tense.
Unsettling.
He walked beside Kaelion, both of them silent after what they had witnessed in the forest. Neither spoke, but the weight of the experience lingered between them.
"You felt it too," Kaelion said quietly, breaking the silence.
Heron nodded. "Yeah… it's stronger now."
Kaelion glanced at him briefly. "And your power… it reacted again."
Heron looked away. "I told you, I don't know what that was."
Kaelion didn't respond.
But the look in his eyes said he didn't fully believe that.
As they reached the inner halls, the atmosphere grew even heavier.
The usual guards were gone.
The corridors were nearly empty.
Only a few divine servants moved quietly, their expressions tense as they avoided eye contact.
Heron slowed his steps. "Something's happening."
Kaelion nodded slightly. "The gods know more than they're saying."
Before Heron could reply—
A deep voice echoed from ahead.
"You should not be wandering these halls."
Both of them stopped.
Standing at the far end of the corridor was Ignivar, the God of Fire and War. Flames flickered faintly along his arms, casting shifting shadows across the walls.
Heron straightened. "We were just—"
"Returning," Kaelion said calmly, cutting in.
Ignivar's gaze moved between them, sharp and assessing. "Then return faster."
Heron frowned slightly. "What's going on?"
Ignivar's expression hardened. "That is not for you to concern yourself with."
Heron's frustration flared again. "Everyone keeps saying that."
"And for good reason," Ignivar replied. "There are forces moving that you cannot yet understand."
Heron took a step forward. "Then make me understand."
For a brief moment, the flames around Ignivar burned brighter.
Then—
They calmed.
Ignivar let out a slow breath. "You have spirit," he said. "But spirit without control leads to destruction."
His gaze lingered on Heron for a moment longer before shifting away.
"Return to your quarters," he said. "Both of you."
Kaelion nodded again. "Understood."
Heron hesitated.
But this time—
He didn't argue.
High above them, beyond the reach of ordinary sight…
The gods had gathered once more.
The council chamber was vast, its walls lined with ancient symbols that pulsed faintly with divine energy. At the center stood a circular platform, where the most powerful beings of the world now faced one another in silence.
Aethrion stood at the front.
Unmoving.
Watching.
"The disturbances are increasing," Solvyn said. "It is no longer subtle."
Calyra stepped forward slightly. "The rivers are reacting. Life itself is becoming unstable in certain regions."
Veyra spoke next. "The earth is shifting more frequently. Whatever is below… it is waking faster than expected."
Ignivar crossed his arms. "Then we act now. We strike before it fully rises."
A quiet voice cut through the tension.
"And risk awakening it completely?"
All eyes turned.
Thalor.
He stood apart from the others, his presence calm but overwhelming.
Ignivar frowned. "So we do nothing?"
Thalor's gaze remained steady. "We prepare."
Zephyros moved slightly, the air around him restless. "You already know what this is, don't you?"
Silence.
Then—
"Yes," Thalor said.
The word echoed heavily through the chamber.
Aethrion's expression remained calm, but his eyes sharpened slightly.
"Then say it," Ignivar demanded.
Thalor looked toward the ground beneath them.
As if seeing through it.
Beyond it.
"To the depths where it sleeps."
Then he spoke.
"One of the ancient ones has begun to stir."
The chamber fell silent.
Even the air seemed to stop.
Calyra's voice was barely above a whisper. "That's not possible…"
"It should not be," Thalor replied. "Yet it is."
Ignivar's flames flared violently. "Then we destroy it before it rises!"
"You cannot destroy what has already endured the wrath of the gods," Thalor said calmly.
Zephyros frowned. "Then what do we do?"
Thalor's gaze shifted.
To Aethrion.
And for the first time—
There was something deeper in his expression.
Something serious.
"He will need to be prepared."
Aethrion didn't respond immediately.
But he understood.
Back in his chamber, Heron sat at the edge of his bed, staring at his hands.
The palace was quiet around him, but his mind was anything but.
The cracks in the ground.
The sound beneath the earth.
The vision.
And that energy…
He clenched his fists.
"What is happening to me…?"
A faint knock came at the door.
Heron looked up. "Come in."
The door opened slowly.
Kaelion stepped inside.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Kaelion leaned against the wall, arms crossed.
"You're not going to sleep, are you?"
Heron shook his head. "No."
"Good," Kaelion said. "Because neither am I."
Heron let out a small breath. "You don't trust them either, do you?"
Kaelion's gaze sharpened slightly. "I trust that they're hiding something."
Heron nodded. "Yeah…"
Silence fell between them.
Then Kaelion spoke again.
"That thing we felt… it wasn't just powerful," he said. "It was old."
Heron looked at him. "What do you mean?"
Kaelion hesitated slightly. "It felt… ancient. Like something that existed long before us."
Heron's chest tightened slightly.
"That's exactly how it felt…"
Kaelion pushed himself off the wall. "Whatever it is… this is just the beginning."
Heron didn't respond.
But deep down—
He knew Kaelion was right.
Far beneath the sacred lands…
Beyond stone.
Beyond light.
The darkness pulsed.
Slow.
Steady.
Waiting.