Sil leaned forward, elbows braced on his knees, hands clenched at his sides, tension gripping each muscle, eyes sharp as memories surged with fierce clarity.
"Bliss knew before I did," he began softly, his voice charged with quiet intensity. "She saw Celestials, breaking ancient accords, turning their wrathful eyes to Earth in vengeance. Three, specifically—each bitter, their pride wounded more grievously than their bodies had ever been."
The sun high in the sky shined down directly about the building but couldn't reach the subterranean apartment. Half lit recessed lighting instead, cast shifting shadows that danced like phantom warriors across the walls and Sil spoke with animated arms. Vorden and Raten listened transfixed, every nerve taut, every breath held captive.
Sil continued, his tone reverent yet grim.
He explained how Bliss spent days weaving magic and cunning, crafting a false godslayer crystal. It shimmered with captured starlight, resonated exactly with Sil's essence—a deception as delicate as spun glass yet deadly in its perfection.
He recalled how she had sent a message early enough as to arrive in time. She has to ensue Sam received it just before he received their desperate call. Fabricating his demise to lure their foes from hiding, and keep their guard down long enough to strike, would only work if nobody found out the truth. There musn't be any attention from those that would possibly overhear of such incongruencies. No distant eaves dropping or it could be their end. Sam had to be in the dark. Sil grimaced, a dark expression washed over his face as he spoke of their childhood friend. However, with a blink of the eye it passed. He continued and explained how preparation consumed them. For days they rehearsed, each detail meticulously ironed until doubt itself seemed foolish.
Finally, Bliss pinpointed their location within the celestial realm. She delivered the invitation to the main celestial directly—a brazen challenge veiled as a burying of the hatchet. And they answered, as pride dictated they must.
As Sil spoke, his voice lowered, each word laden with gravity. They had met them upon some forsaken world once ruled by the being, a place marked by cosmic fury, scarred valleys bathed in violet twilight, cliffs of crystalline formations jutting skyward as if the land itself cried defiance to the heavens.
But their ruse was fragile—intended merely to dance the edges of conflict, feign defeat, and vanish until their arrogance lowered their defenses. Yet, as Sil and Bliss arrived beneath clouds roiling like molten obsidian, they found not one—but all three celestials awaiting them, faces painted with malice, eyes luminous, a mask pulsing angrily with incandescent power.
He straightened slightly, fists gripping the edge of his cushion tightly. He continued with a strain on his voice.
He told his brothers how chaos erupted immediately, and their careful plans were shredded like cobwebs in a hurricane. Each god moved with unfathomable speed and wrath, energy cascading off them like miniature supernovas. Bliss's staff erupted with dazzling magic, deflecting blasts of raw power, weaving illusions, but it was barely enough to take the edge of the attack off.
"I summoned flames that scorched the air itself, wind gusts that sliced through the thickest foliage yet bounced off of their armors like a breeze, and lightning, condensed and practically solid. But for every strike I landed, three more erupted from their hands. Soon, I was beyond exhausted, my MC cells were waning. I needed to maintain enough to travel away and to forge my death. Blood painted my vision, and I could hardly breathe."
Sil's voice began to break. His eyes had grown bloodshot as he held back tears, afraid that they might seem misplaced. He looked away, clenching his jaw as he took in air through his nose slowly. Closing his eyes, Sil exhaled deep. He turned back to face his brothers and continued.
He detailed the point at which finally, he had an opening—a perfect moment to fake his end—but just as he moved, one of them seized Bliss. Her eyes widened with sudden, helpless panic. Her meticulous plan had unraveled disastrously; instead of salvation, she found herself trapped, cornered by the very storm she had sought so desperately to avoid.
Her scream still felt like a blade piercing his heart. Chains had erupted from nowhere, runes glowing darkly as her magic flickered and died. One of the celestials lifted her with no effort, and he was laughing cruelly, mocking her betrayal, for delivering me into their hands.
Vorden tensed up at the last bit. He specifically felt Knott's in his stomach over the word betrayal. Had Bliss in fact delivered Sil into the trap? Intentionally? A darkness fell upon Vorden's face and the sinister killing intent that manifested as bloodlust through Raten's features clearly indicated that he was as broiling. Raten had a hunger rolling off of his body in waves, a beastial hunger for carnage, the likes of which hasn't been found there in years. At that moment it was as thick and tangible as it had ever been.
Sil pressed on. He finally started to speak slower, softer, and almost regretful. He told of how her eyes met his, blazing fiercely, silently commanding him to hold the course. Every fiber within Sil screamed defiance, desperate to rescue her—but the odds only mocked him. He hesitated, his mind splintering beneath the choice, but her resolute gaze never wavered.
Summoning all of his remaining strength, he unleashed one final illusion—a very dramatic, near miss. A masterpiece of Sil's own destruction, disintegration into stardust around the false godslayer crystal. It fell softly, brilliantly glowing as they roared triumphantly, completely deceived.
Hidden within shadows, broken and gasping, Sil watched helplessly as they dragged Bliss away, bound in chains of celestial silence. Anguish and fury surged, his teeth grit till they nearly cracked, his heart heavy with the betrayal he'd been forced into.
"And then— barely conscious, wounded deeper than I had expected to become— I teleported home. To you. To rally, to strike while their defences are down, just like we had planned. With any luck, she is still alive— and we can get to her in time. Kill two birds with one stone."
Sil fell silent, eyes blazing fiercely, the shadows now still around them, grew heavy with the weight of his words.
"Technically we'd be killing three birds with one stone— if we manage to succeed." Raten blurted out with a half cocked grin as he stared off at nothing in particular, eyes glazed over. Vorden shook his head at that. A joke, no matter how terrible, helped to break the tension that hung oppressively in the air.
Vorden smirked at the opportunity to simply pass a stupid joke around the circle, fond memories surfacing, reminding Vorden just how prescious this seemily mundane and inconsequential moment truly was. No less than an hour ago he had thought Sil was dead. The tightness that fell on his chest and gripped his heart started clenching at him again, he never wanted to feel that pain again.
"I mean— if we are getting technical, are we the stones? If so, it would be killing three birds with three stones." Sil's face lit up, as he raised his hopeful gaze to meet Vorden's. Vorden continued with a wry smile. "I have to admit, I like the sound of those odds far better."