Chapter 18 – Feathers of the Tyrant
"When gods descend, they expect worship. He gave them war instead."
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The sky tore open above the capital of Aetheris.
Not a crack. Not a storm.
A divine wound.
From it, feathers of starlight poured like a gentle rain. Each one touched the ground and turned it to molten glass.
People ran. Screamed. Prayed.
It didn't matter.
> The Tyrant of Wings had arrived.
Clad in armor made of celestial bone and haloed flame, the god stood atop the ruins of the High Basilica, wings outstretched like blades. His eyes were hollow comets. His voice carried through every mind like a whisper of law.
> "A mortal has drawn godblood. Bring him to me."
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Meanwhile: Edge of the Wound
Kaien stood in the shadow of a broken monolith, watching the city burn.
Riven stared upward, hands trembling. "That's… not just a god. That's a Tyrant. One of the six."
Kaien said nothing.
He stepped forward.
Fellchain pulsed. The curse mark on his chest blazed like a third sun.
> "You going to run?" Riven asked.
Kaien turned. "He's not here for the people. He's here for me."
"And?"
Kaien raised his blade. "Let's give him what he wants."
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The Descent
The Tyrant turned.
One mortal.
No divine protection. No angelic guard.
Just a young man walking through fire, curse-marked and calm.
Kaien didn't flinch as the god's wings spread, cutting the air like divine razors.
> "Name yourself, insect."
Kaien's answer was a whisper that echoed:
> "I am the chain that will hang the heavens."
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Divine Pressure
The air collapsed around him.
Time bent.
The Tyrant of Wings dove from the sky, faster than thought. A strike that could cleave mountains fell toward Kaien's head.
CLANG.
Fellchain blocked it.
The ground cratered beneath Kaien's feet.
His legs buckled. His bones screamed. But he didn't fall.
> "You dare—!"
Kaien moved.
Abyssal Flow ignited.
He ducked, twisted, carved upward. A black arc of cursed energy slashed through the god's wing.
Blood—divine blood—splashed across the sky like falling stars.
The god stepped back, actually stunned.
"You bled me…"
> "And I'll do it again."
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The Tyrant's Wrath
The god unleashed a barrage—blades of light, gravity pulses, hymns that tore the soul.
Kaien danced through them, each step leaving streaks of voidfire.
The people watched from the ruins, stunned.
A mortal was holding back a god.
Not surviving—fighting.
Not praying—defying.
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The Split Sky
Kaien jumped—Fellchain blazing with every cursed soul that ever suffered under heaven.
> New Technique Unlocked: Chainrend Crescent.
He slashed.
A black crescent wave tore across the battlefield, cleaving the god's halo in two.
The Tyrant screamed—not just from pain, but humiliation.
He called down a final strike—an executioner's beam, hot as suns.
Kaien met it with his blade.
Two powers collided.
The sky cracked again.
The divine wound… closed.
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Silence
When the dust settled, Kaien stood barely breathing, body smoking, one eye shut.
The Tyrant was gone.
Not dead.
Retreated.
Wounded.
Feared.
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Epilogue: The First Prayer
Somewhere in the ruins, a child looked up at Kaien.
"…Are you a god?"
Kaien sheathed his sword.
"No. But I make them bleed."
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