IMMORTAL SLAYER

The world did not sleep the night Gabriel rose.

Every realm buzzed with whispered legends reborn, as if the stars themselves were rewriting the constellations to make room for a new god. In the Holy Archives of Elythros, ancient prophecies long erased reappeared in golden ink. In the Deep, even the blind creatures of shadow sang his name.

Gabriel. The Heir. The Flame.

But for the one who wore the crown, peace never came.

He stood alone on the edge of Mount Liraeth, overlooking the Veil of Realms—a place where the divine and the damned brushed shoulders with fate. His back still shimmered with the Mark of the First Flame, and his heart… thundered like a drum of war.

"I didn't ask for any of this," he murmured.

"You didn't," said a familiar voice.

Merlin approached from the mist, cloak trailing behind him like a shadow of history. "But that doesn't mean you weren't made for it."

Gabriel turned to him, the burden clear in his eyes. "They all kneeled, Merlin. Even Lucifer. But not because they believe in me. They're afraid."

Merlin placed a hand on his shoulder. "Then show them a reason to follow, not out of fear… but fire."

Suddenly, the air split—like glass cracking in every direction. The Veil shimmered, and from its rift came a presence neither light nor dark.

An emissary. Cloaked in bone and light.

"My master wishes to speak with the one who carries the Flame," it said, its voice echoing in multiple tongues at once.

Gabriel stepped forward. "Who is your master?"

The emissary tilted its head. "The One who never knelt. The one who reigns from behind the stars. The Final God."

Merlin's face paled.

"No being has dared challenge the divine order since the War of Origins. Except him."

Gabriel's fists clenched, fire coiling around his fingers.

"Then let him speak," he said, voice steady.

The emissary grinned.

"Oh, he will. But be warned, Child of Fire. Crowns burn. But thrones consume."

And with a flash, the emissary vanished—leaving only a sigil carved into the air: an inverted star bleeding shadow.

Gabriel looked at it, then at Merlin.

"Looks like this reign won't be quiet," he muttered.

Merlin smirked.

"Would you really want it any other way?"