A shockwave rippled outward as the otherworldly entity raised his hands. The air trembled. Debris twisted unnaturally in the wake of his power before plunging toward the wounded Guardian like a rain of jagged ruin.

  With a ragged breath, the beast staggered to its feet. Darkness pooled around its claws as it summoned its abyssal shield once more -- a gaping void in the fabric of reality. The wreckage hurtled toward it, only to vanish into nothingness, swallowed whole.

  The Guardian: "I have heard what you seek... You wish to undo it all. To wipe away this world the gods envisioned. But alone... all you will accomplish is your own oblivion."

  The void swallowed the first assault, but it did nothing to stop the next. With a flick of his wrist, Virno altered the debris' trajectory, sending it arcing around the shield like vultures circling dying prey. The Guardian barely had time to react before the rubble struck its exposed back.

  A howl of pain tore from the beast's throat as splintered stone and metal buried themselves in its flesh. With a desperate, shuddering motion, it unfurled its mangled wings, warping the abyssal shield until it bent into a perfect sphere around its form. A cocoon of darkness.

  The Guardian: "To wield godly power in such a way... to unleash it without restraint... You defile it."

  No answer came. The entity did not acknowledge the words -- perhaps he did not even hear them.

  Instead, his glowing hands moved with eerie precision. The remains of the ruined skyscraper trembled, then rose, forming a dome around the Guardian's shield. Shards of splintered stone and twisted steel hovered, layering themselves in concentric rings.

  Then he brought his hands together.

  The first layer collapsed inward.

  The impact cracked the shield.

  The Guardian: "You corrupt its essence... There will be consequences for this. But..."

  He opened his hands, then clenched them once more. Another layer slammed down. More cracks. The abyssal sphere trembled, its darkness laced with fissures of pale light.

  The Guardian: "Perhaps this is how it must be. The path to rewrite what the old ones wrote -- to shatter the first link in the chain... Yes. Yes..."

  Another motion. Another collapse. The shield was breaking -- faster now, as if surrendering to its own unraveling.

  The Guardian: "You cannot even hear me, can you? You are not yourself anymore. You have surrendered everything to it... You are nothing now but greed made manifest."

  Inside the failing sphere, something changed. A ghostly grey light began to pulse from within, seeping through the fractures like smoke through broken glass.

  The Guardian: "Those who wield the seven deadly arms are doomed to become what they embody. But a sin can take many forms. Greed is no exception..."

  It hunched low, its form shifting, its body drinking in the strange energy as if bracing for something.

  The final layer descended.

  The Guardian: "Some forms , however... They take far more than they give. You will learn this soon."

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  The shield shattered.

  The Guardian: "Yet thankfully, I... Will not be around to see it. Not as I am now. Not as a slave to their whims... A prisoner of their making."

  In the instant before impact, the Guardian vanished.

  The debris collapsed into an empty void, filling the space where the beast had once stood. At that same moment, a violent detonation erupted near the obelisk -- grey energy surged outward, bathing the ruins in a freezing monochrome light.

  The Guardian: "THE OLD GODS' RULES WILL BREAK, ONE DAY... BUT TODAY CANNOT BE THAT DAY."

  The beast reappeared at the base of the obelisk. Its body, once monstrous, began to shift -- stone-hard flesh twisting, folding inward. It wrapped itself around the ancient spire, its form solidifying, merging.

  The entity moved -- or rather, he tried to. But the moment he attempted to cross the space between them, reality bent against him. His body warped, dragged backward, returned to where he had just stood.

  The air twisted in endless loops.

  He hurled a hurricane forward -- only for the wind to reverse, spiraling back to its origin. No matter how he attacked, space itself rejected him, trapping him in a loop of futility.

  The Guardian: "TODAY IS THE DAY WE LOSE ALL THAT WE ARE."

  A final explosion erupted from the obelisk, its blinding radius expanding outward.

  The Guardian: "So that we may one day... seize what we seek on this present one. Together."

  The Cradle of the World began to collapse.

  Water hissed into steam. The structures of the Cradle crumbled as the shockwave ripped through them, shredding stone, steel, and history alike. Above, the earth split open -- cracks unfurling like veins—revealing the abyss below. Sunlight poured through the shattered ground, illuminating the wreckage with an almost reverent glow.

  And far from the destruction, in a chamber untouched by ruin, the Lion grinned underneath his mask.

  The Lion: "So... You've managed to do it after all, Ballo."

  The vast legislative hall of Eclipse was eerily empty, save for him. The usual audience -- the Snake, the Fawn, the Elephant... all other members, absent.

  Dominus: "Their power... can it truly be so great...?"

  Though his voice was measured, there was no mistaking the fury beneath it.

  Seated upon his throne, Dominus remained still, his eyes closed, his expression taut with barely restrained wrath.

  The Lion & Dominus: "... Seems the sword has found its new wielder."

  Angelic figure: "A new wielder...?"

  Within a cathedral of pure white crystal, two figures smiled.

  Winged, celestial -- one stood tall, radiating golden light. The other, though equally imposing, bore a blindfold of shimmering silk, obscuring their eyes.

  The blindfolded one tilted their head, lips curling into something between amusement and revelation.

  Blindfolded figure: "Indeed. One powerful enough to crack the cycle itself... Our time of waiting is over."

  Their wings stretched wide, catching the light as they turned toward the cathedral's grand entrance.

  Blindfolded figure: "Tell our Lux brethren... the future is up for the taking."

  Their voice echoed across the hallowed chamber, ringing through crystal halls.

  Dominus: "Our war with Lux..."

  Blindfolded figure: "The war with Nox..."

  And as though bound by fate, their voices merged, crossing the distance between them.

  Dominus & the figure: "It begins today."

  The Lion's moment of victory was interrupted.

  Footsteps echoed through the chamber. The air grew heavier.

  Then, the Dragon entered.

  His expression was storm-dark, his jaw clenched tight as he strode forward.

  The Dragon: "More casualties... More losses. We cannot keep bleeding our people like this, Lion!"

  The Lion remained seated, gaze unreadable.

  The Lion: "... There will be no more losses."

  The Dragon faltered.

  The Dragon: "W-what?! But how -- ?"

  The Lion: "Eclipse has been released."

  A sharp inhale. The Dragon's eyes widened.

  The Dragon: "S-She has?! But that means --"

  The Lion: "The Guardian has sacrificed itself."

  A long silence. Then, the Lion exhaled and leaned forward, resting his chin against his hand.

  The Lion: "Now... we wait."

  As several pieces on the board began to shift, high above... Down below, all was silent.

  The Cradle lay in ruin.

  Water streamed from the fractured earth, cascading into the abyss. Dawn's first light spilled through the cracks, turning the desolation into something strangely beautiful -- a portrait of devastation painted in gold and silver hues.

  And at its heart, the obelisk stood untouched.

  No longer guarded. No longer hidden.

  At its base, a statue of black and white marble had taken shape.

  The Guardian's final form.

  Half its wings missing. The other half drawn forward, veiling the obelisk's face in solemn silence.

  A forlorn monument, the crest of a new era.