CHAPTER 266: CHAPTER 262 – ABOVE THE SKY THAT REJECTS PEACE

Above the mortal world, newly cloaked in night, stretched another sky, a realm unseen by human eyes, where stars were not merely lights, but watchful sentinels observing all that existed.

There stood the Domain of the Gods: The Astral Sanctum, a vast expanse of crystal and eternal light floating in the void.

But that night, the holy brilliance trembled.

The celestial crystals that usually shone softly were cracking, and from their fissures seeped black smoke that pulsed like an angry heart.

At the center of the endless hall, six magnificent thrones hovered above a whirlpool of white radiance.

Their occupants were gods whose avatars in the mortal realm had just been destroyed and they were furious.

.....

"THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!"

The voice of Korthan, god of fire and war, roared louder than thunder across a thousand battlefields.

Flames burned from his eyes, consuming the air around him. The holy stone beneath his feet began to melt.

"A foreign goddess breached this world’s boundary and violated our divine laws! Where were the border wardens?! Where is the keeper of life and death?!"

His glare locked onto Olmerath, guardian of the world’s borders.

But Olmerath did not flinch. His face was pale and calm like the cold stillness of a gravestone.

"My borders remain intact," he said evenly. "If Persephone crossed over, it means she did not come as an invader."

He met Korthan’s burning gaze with his shadow-gray eyes. "She was invited by something... or someone."

Korthan snarled. "Don’t twist words, gray warden! You know that creature is not part of our order! She carries foreign darkness and she destroyed our vessel in the mortal realm simply by existing!"

A soft laugh broke the tension.

"So much fury... over something you barely understand."

From a mist of green, a tall woman stepped forth. Her hair flowed like moss and shadowed leaves.

In her eyes danced ancient trees, roots, and fog.

Syvalith, goddess of the Forbidden Forest, regarded them with a cold smile.

"She didn’t attack out of lust for power. She merely protected what was already hers."

She lifted a finger, pointing toward the air where the faint reflection of Sylvia’s unseen form shimmered.

"That girl is no ordinary mortal. You’ve all sensed it from the beginning, haven’t you?"

Velgrath, god of Eternal Night, who had been silent until now, slowly opened his eyes. In his pupils flickered dying stars.

"Indeed," he murmured. "But what angers me is not Persephone’s interference..." He leaned forward, and the space around him darkened. "It’s that I can no longer see their fates."

The words spread like venom across the hall.

The other gods fell silent at once.

"You... can’t see?"

Nerys, goddess of the Sea, looked pale.

"Even you, the weaver of destinies, cannot pierce the veil around them?"

Velgrath stared deep into the swirling stars below his feet.

"No. Their fates have been severed from my threads. As if another hand has cut them and replaced them with something not of this world. And worse, Ithara’s interference has made the stars refuse to obey me."

Korthan growled, flames surging higher from his body.

"Then we must unite our power and erase them before their roots grow any deeper!"

Zepharion, god of wind and travel, leaned casually against a pillar of mist, watching with a crooked smile.

"Ah, Korthan always burns and destroys.’ You never learn, do you? The world doesn’t turn as simply as your sword swings."

"Silence, wanderer!" Korthan bellowed.

But Zepharion merely chuckled, flicking a breeze from his silver wings.

"I’m not on their side but I’m not a fool either. Persephone isn’t an ordinary goddess. She didn’t cross worlds to wage war. She... left a mark."

His eyes narrowed. "And if you try to fight her directly, you’ll lose far more than just your mortal vessels."

From the mirrored air beside the hall, a woman stepped forth half-smiling, half-cold.

Caelyra, goddess of Illusion.

"Oh, this is fascinating," she said lightly. "It’s rare to see our righteous warriors so shaken by one goddess from another world. Tell me, are you angry... or jealous?"

Korthan spun toward her, flames flaring. "Watch your tongue, Caelyra."

"Of course," she replied sweetly. "I was only asking. Besides, I’ve heard a rumor..."

She walked leisurely to the center.

"That six great gods were nearly annihilated by a being half-living, half-dead. Isn’t that true, Velgrath?"

Velgrath did not respond. The shadows on his face rippled like ink spreading through water.

Nerys sighed softly. "Enough. The underworld is sealed once more. Let us not nurture hatred further."

She turned toward Syvalith and Zepharion. "You may mock us, but remember if an entity like Persephone can cross the veil, then the walls between worlds are weakening.

Today, it was her. Tomorrow, it could be something far worse."

Zepharion looked at her, then up at the bleeding stars above the sky weeping crimson light.

"You’re right," he said quietly. "But aren’t we the ones who weakened it?

By meddling with the mortal world, creating heroes, and twisting fate like it’s a game board?"

Silence.

For a moment, even Korthan’s fire went still.

.....

Far from them, on the western edge of the celestial sky, two faint stars hid behind black mist.

Beneath that dim glow, two figures stood upon a surface of floating water.

Lumielle

, goddess of Eternal Light, looked pale. The golden light in her hair dimmed, flickering as if about to die.

Beside her, Ithara, goddess of Stars and Destiny, studied a scroll of starlight in her hands a map of the heavens now torn and burned, its threads of fate severed.

"Do they know you’re still alive?" Ithara asked, not turning.

Lumielle smiled faintly. "No. And for now, let it stay that way."

Her hand touched her chest, where a black scar still lingered from the combined strike of six enemy gods.

"I need time. This wound isn’t just physical... it’s a memory."

Ithara glanced at her softly, concerned about shadowing her eyes. "They’ll hunt you. Korthan won’t stop until he’s sure you’re truly dead."

"I know," Lumielle murmured. "But I saw something, Ithara. In the last flash of light before I fell... I saw her."

Her gaze turned downward to the mortal world, to where Sylvia now slept in her chamber.

"The girl. The Queen of Zombies."

Ithara lowered her head, her voice like wind trembling through stars. "Sylvia Hortensia."

"Yes." Lumielle nodded. "Persephone has marked her. And that means the order of this world will change. Nothing will ever be the same again."

Ithara closed the scroll of fate in her hands, and instantly, the stars above them trembled in rhythm with their hearts.

"Will we stop them?"

Lumielle looked up at the heavens and smiled faintly.

"No. Not stop them. We’ll wait."

Her gaze turned eastward toward the faint haze of the underworld still clinging to the mortal sky.

"Because when light and death walk together... the day of judgment for the gods will come."

Ithara studied her for a long moment before asking softly,

"So... we side with them?"

Lumielle’s eyes shone gently, like the first dawn.

"Not take sides. We only... maintain balance. And if the gods have forgotten why this world must live alongside darkness..."

She closed her eyes slowly.

"...then perhaps it’s time someone reminded them."

The wind around them spiraled, weaving gold and violet light.

The two figures faded into it, leaving the heavens trembling with fury, fear, and the first whispers of an oncoming war.

.....

Far below the mortal layers deeper than any hell ever spoken of lay a vast, breathing kingdom.

The Underworld, domain of true death, pulsed with new life. No longer ruled by Hades. That name was now nothing but a rotting echo among the ruins of his own palace.

Upon a throne of black obsidian sat Goddess Persephone. Her gown flowed like a river of shadows, black petals blooming where her feet had touched.

Behind her, the three heads of Cerberus rested faithfully, their breaths heavy but calm blue fire burning from each mouth, lighting the endless hall.

To her right stood Thanatos, the pale-haired angel of death, holding his scythe forged from bone and starlit night.

To her left floated Erebos, the personification of primordial darkness, cross-legged in the air, his eyes glowing faint gold like fire within void.

They were silent.

For their Queen was smiling.

It wasn’t a wide smile, but it was enough to make the entire underworld tremble as if every nameless soul bowed in reverence.

"So," she said softly, her voice echoing gently yet shaking millions of spirits,

"The little girl still lives."

One of Cerberus’s heads lifted, growling low in agreement. Its blue flames flared brighter.

Thanatos bowed deeply. "Your avatar in the mortal realm has shaken the gods, my Lady. Six of them fled, gravely wounded."

Erebos chuckled, his voice deep and cavernous.

"And that was merely your shadow, Persephone. If it had been you who descended, their sky would have shattered."

Persephone tapped her finger lightly on the armrest.

Each touch sent ripples of dark-violet energy through the hall, making the skull-carved walls throb like a living heart.

"There’s no need for that," she said gently. "I only wished to remind them... that death does not belong to them."

She lifted her gaze to the ceiling of endless stone, adorned with dead stars.

"Hades always believed the underworld was a realm of penance that we must wait for souls to come and be judged."

Her smile faded, thinning into silence.

"But I’ve grown tired of waiting."

Thanatos bowed lower, his voice trembling. "Lord Hades... has...."

"died," Persephone interrupted, calm but sharp. "I killed him. This realm has suffered too long under the tyranny of boredom and fear. It’s time death ceased being a punishment and became a choice."

Her words reverberated through the depths of the underworld, causing the River Styx to froth with black foam.

Thousands of souls quivered, yet did not scream for even death bowed before the silence of its Queen.

Erebos watched her, then said quietly, "You’ve changed, Persephone. But I like this version of you."

Persephone turned slightly, warmth flickering briefly in her eyes.

"I haven’t changed. I’ve simply remembered who I was... before I was trapped in a love that wasn’t mine."

She straightened her posture.

Black flowers bloomed around the throne, their petals glowing faint violet beautiful, yet poisonous.

"And that girl..." Her voice softened to a whisper, gentle as prayer.

"Sylvia... She’s not merely a disciple. She is the reflection of a past I never lived. The world owes her and the death she has tamed."

Thanatos lifted his head, uncertain. "Do you intend to descend yourself if the gods attack again, my Lady?"

Persephone’s gaze drifted forward through the veils of reality, across dimensions as if she could truly see Sylvia sleeping peacefully in her castle.

"No," she said with a faint smile. "Not yet. Besides, what they fought before was merely my avatar... and that alone was enough to make them tremble."

She raised her hand, and from the air, a dark-violet flower blossomed a Phantom Bloom, the same that had appeared beside Sylvia’s bed.

"As long as this flower lives, her soul will not fade. And I will continue to watch over her."

Cerberus let out a soft growl, thunder rolling from its throats. Thanatos and Erebos knelt simultaneously, while the purple light from the flower spread across the underworld.

Persephone closed her eyes, her voice falling to a whisper yet echoing through eternity:

"Sleep, my daughter. Rise again when the world calls for you. And when the heavens of the gods burn once more... I will come."

The obsidian throne gleamed. And for a moment in that timeless realm Goddess Persephone smiled.