The rain fell in torrents, soaking the fractured ruins of the once-glorious city of Ardent. Lightning split the sky, illuminating the broken skyline and casting jagged shadows across the battlefield. Leon stood alone at the center of the devastation, his coat torn, his body trembling—not from exhaustion, but from the storm of power raging within him.
He had reversed time. He had brought back the world from the brink of annihilation. But the cost still echoed in his heart—his home destroyed, his family slaughtered, and the last memory of his love burned into his soul like a brand.
"Is this… the price of ascension?" he whispered.
A low hum pulsed through the air. The symbol etched on his chest—the divine sigil that had appeared when his sealed memories shattered—glowed faintly, reacting to something unseen. The Mark of Divinity. It was not just a symbol. It was a key… and a warning.
As if summoned by his awakening, a ripple tore through the sky above him. A gate—circular, immense, and thrumming with divine energy—opened like an eye in the heavens. From it descended a figure cloaked in radiance, armor made of starlight and gold, eyes burning with celestial judgment.
"Leon of Earth," the being spoke, voice echoing through both air and soul, "You tamper with the threads of fate. The Divine Accord forbids interference with the flow of time."
Leon's eyes narrowed. "And yet, your gods watched as the world was consumed. Where was your Accord then?"
The celestial being floated down, landing before him. "Your soul bears the mark of a forgotten god—the one who defied the heavens. His essence lives within you… You are his reincarnation."
The revelation hit harder than any blade. The sealed memories he had glimpsed… the visions of stars shattering and divine thrones crumbling… they weren't dreams. They were fragments of a life once lived—as the God-King who dared to challenge the pantheon itself.
Leon clenched his fists. "Then let them come. Let the gods descend. I will rise again, and this time—I won't fall."
With a motion of his hand, the gate above closed. The divine being gave him a long, unreadable look before vanishing in a burst of radiant light.
Leon stood alone once more, but something had changed. The storm no longer battered him. The wind bent around him, the rain parted for him. The world had begun to recognize what he truly was.
A whisper stirred in the wind.
"God-King… awaken."