[Alvar’s POV—Thorenvald Estate—Later]

The sky split open.

Not metaphorically. Not poetically.

Literally.

A crack of blue lightning tore across the clouds as Zephyy descended like a falling star—wings spread wide, scales glowing like molten sapphire. Haldor gulped beside me. Roland whispered a prayer he didn’t remember.

And I...I felt my heartbeat stop. Because in Zephyy’s talons—screaming, cursing, thrashing, glowing—hung a Spirit Goddess.

A real one.

Golden hair whipping like fire. Violet eyes blazing with divine fury. Clothed in spirit-woven silk that rippled like moonlight.

Zephyy slammed into the courtyard, landing with a quake that shook the stone beneath us. Snow spiraled upward from the force.

Caelum slid off his back, wings folding sharply. He didn’t even look winded. The goddess, however, screeched with enough rage to shatter continents:

"PUT ME DOWN, YOU MISERABLE—! YOU WINGLESS—! YOU IMPUDENT—! DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM—?!"

Zephyy, completely unimpressed, held her upside-down by her ankle like a noisy chicken.

The goddess shrieked. I stepped forward. My voice—low, controlled, but fraying at the edges—

"...You brought her?"

Caelum lifted his chin, feathers shimmering with divine light. "She refused," he said plainly. "So we adjusted the method."

The goddess struggled like a cat thrown into bathwater.

"UNHAND ME THIS INSTANT—!! I AM A GODDESS OF SPIRIT! I WILL END EVERY ONE OF YOU—!!"

Her voice shook the air, rattled windows, and sent servants scrambling for their lives.

But I only stepped forward—slowly, deliberately—and hissed through clenched teeth, "I don’t care who you are. I don’t care what title you hold, what heavens you rule, or what storms bow at your feet."

She froze, glaring daggers.

I took another step, voice low and lethal— "The only thing anyone in this estate cares about... is that you are going to save my husband. "

Her violet eyes flooded with outrage.

"You insolent little—I GUESS ALL THE HUMANS HERE HAVE A DEATH—"

" No. "

Caelum’s voice sliced through the air like a holy blade.

Cold.

Sharp.

Angelic.

Every torch flame flickered as he stepped toward her—wings unfolding halfway, feathers glowing with divine warning.

"You," he hissed, "are the one with a death wish."

Her rage wavered. He continued—voice trembling with divine fury: "You KNOW the devil is awakened. You KNOW only the Seraph King can kill him. You KNOW Leif is the last bearer of that power."

He took another step, each word striking like thunder.

"And yet—you refused to help. You denied healing him. You turned away... almost as if..." His eyes narrowed into something dangerous, accusing—"...as if you WANT the devil to corrupt this world."

Silence fell like a heavy stone.

The goddess’s breath hitched—not fear, not guilt—but a sudden sharp awareness that she had crossed a line.

Her aura dimmed.

Her voice cracked, just slightly—"I... I do not wish for that."

I moved beside Caelum, fastening my gaze onto her.

"Then you’re saving him," I said. Not shouted. Not begged.

Declared.

"Whether you wish to or not."

Her lips pressed into a thin line. Her shoulders lowered just slightly. And then—with the dignity of a divine forced into humility—

"...Fine," she sighed. "Take me to him."

No more screaming.No more threats.Just raw tension and something like reluctant resolve.

Zephyy released her She landed lightly on her feet—hair swirling like golden fire, eyes glowing with suppressed fury. And just like that—like a procession walking toward destiny—we moved.

Through the halls.

Past guards frozen in shock.Past servants whispering prayers.Past family members holding each other in dread.

The goddess walked behind me—her steps silent, her expression unreadable—but I felt her power like heat on my back.

Caelum flanked her, wings half-spread, ready to restrain or strike. Zephyy padded beside us in cat form, tail flicking with smug satisfaction.

And I—I pushed open the chamber door.

Slowly.

Every breath inside the room stilled.

Leif lay on the bed—fragile, pale, barely pulsing with life. Glowing cracks of soul-light spread across his chest like shattered glass.

The goddess stopped walking.

The goddess’s eyes widened—not with anger, not with annoyance, but with shock .

Real shock.

Her voice dropped—soft, trembling—the sound of someone witnessing the impossible, "...His power is being awakened."

A cold shiver ran up my spine.

"W—what do you mean?" I demanded.

She didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, she leaned down—slowly—her fingers hovering above Leif’s glowing chest. Her gaze was unfocused, as if she were staring through

his body, through his soul, and through the very fabric of the world.

And then she breathed, "He has already... been saved."

The air left my lungs.

"WHAT?" Caelum and I said at the same time.

My voice trembled. "Then why hasn’t he woken up? Why—why is he still like this?"

Her expression softened with something I couldn’t name. Awe? Fear? Reverence?

"Because..." she said slowly, "the seal placed upon his divine power... has cracked."

My heart pounded violently.

"Seal...? Divine power...?" I whispered. "Explain clearly."

The goddess didn’t look at me—she kept her eyes locked on Leif’s chest, where faint golden fractures sparkled like cracks in reality.

"He carries too much divinity," she murmured. "More than any mortal body should. More than even a king. His soul is... exhausted. Overwhelmed. The awakening is consuming his strength."

She placed a hand over her heart, voice softening further— "He is not dying. He is simply asleep... in the White Realm."

"White... realm?" Caelum asked, stepping closer.

The goddess nodded.

"A place where humans cannot walk. Where divine beings cannot interfere. Where even we gods must tread with caution."

Her eyes fluttered shut.

"It is a realm where the God who governs fate resides."

My breath caught.

Leif... was with the gods?

She opened her eyes again—violet flames swirling in their depths. "He is resting there. Recovering. Waiting."

I swallowed hard. "...Then wake him. Wake him now."

Caelum’s wings flared sharply. "What are you waiting for? Do it."

The goddess lifted her gaze toward us—serene, ancient, slightly weary.

"I cannot force him awake," she said. "But I can hasten the process. I can strengthen the bridge between his soul and his body."

Her expression hardened.

"But what comes after... will not be gentle."

"I don’t care," I snapped instantly. "Do whatever you need. Wake him."

She sighed—deeply, like she had expected this answer. "Very well. All of you... step back."

We obeyed without hesitation.

Haldor and Roland moved behind me. Caelum’s wings retracted, feathers glowing faintly.Zephyy crouched low, tail flicking anxiously.

And I—I pressed my back to the wall, hands shaking so violently I had to clench them into fists.

The goddess stepped forward. Her hair lifted slightly—gold drifting upward like it was underwater. She hovered her hand inches above Leif’s broken, glowing chest.

Her voice deepened—echoing, layered with ancient power—"Spiritum Divinus...aperi oculos tuos..."

The room trembled.

Her magic pulsed—soft first, then violently—the air cracking with sparks of pure divinity. Her eyes glowed bright violet, runes swirling around her fingers.

She placed her palm gently— ever so gently— onto Leif’s chest.

And then—

S P A R K L E — ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

The entire chamber EXPLODED with light.

Blinding.Violent.PURE.

Light shone through Leif’s skin—through every crack—like his soul was a sun trying to burst free from mortal flesh.

Golden sigils spiraled out from his body—curling along the air, walls, and floors—ancient markings that even Caelum gasped at.

The bed SHOOK. The windows SHATTERED outward. Wind HOWLED through the room, though every door was closed.

A deep, resonant hum filled the air—so powerful that my bones vibrated.

Haldor collapsed to one knee. Roland shielded his eyes. Zephyy yowled as divine energy sent ripples through his fur. Even Caelum—an ANGEL—stumbled back.

And me?

All I could do was stare—heart stopped, breath gone—as the man I loved was swallowed in golden radiance.

The goddess whispered—barely audible—but her words struck like thunder:

"...His divinity is awakening. More ancient... More powerful...than I expected..."

Leif’s back arched. His lips parted—and the LIGHT ERUPTED.

From his chest.From his eyes.From every crack in his soul.

Pouring out in roaring waves —White—Gold—Blue—Crimson— A spectrum of divine power no mortal should ever hold.

A power that shook the castle down to its foundations. A power that even the goddess stepped back from. A power that whispered— Seraph King.

I took one step forward—my voice breaking—"L–Leif...?"

And the goddess’s eyes widened completely.

"Stand back, Grand Duke—!! HIS SOUL IS RETURNING—!!"

The world went silent—but the light grew louder. Brighter. Stronger. Until the entire room was swallowed by Leif’s awakening.

A seraph’s awakening.

A king’s rebirth. A soul returning through the cracks of the universe. Then—something else happened.

Something is wrong.

Something terrifying.

The light trembled.

As if something enormous had turned its head in the direction of the estate. The goddess’s face went white.

"NO..." she whispered. "It’s too soon. It’s too big. HE noticed—"

Caelum’s eyes snapped open in horror. "Who noticed?"

The air froze.

Literally. Frost crawled across the windows. Shadows stretched. The golden light flickered—just once.

A low, rumbling laugh echoed across the chamber. Not from a person. Not from a place.

From the world itself .

The goddess clutched her chest, trembling violently. "He... sensed it."

"Who?" I demanded, voice breaking. "WHO?!"

Her pupils shrank to pinpricks.

"The Devil," she whispered.

The golden light surrounding Leif darkened—as if shadowed by something colossal, monstrous, ancient— "He felt the Seraph King’s awakening."