SWNOVELXO Chapter 19: Chapter 19 – When Gods Open Their Eyes
It started with thunder
But there were no clouds.
Just a deep crack in the sky above Virelles.
And the faint sound of weeping wind that didn't belong to the world.
Kaelith stood at the high tower window, staring into a sky that shimmered wrong. Too silver. Too still. Like time had paused-waiting for judgment.
"Elara," he said quietly, "do you feel that?"
She didn't answer.
Because she was already on her knees.
Hands trembling.
Eyes closed.
Blood trailing from her nose.
Kaelith rushed to her side. "What is it?"
Her voice was hollow. "They know."
"The gods?"
She nodded once. "They're not pleased. I burned a vow forged in divine blood. And they're reaching back through the veil."
Kaelith looked up. "Then let them reach."
That same hour, in the lower halls of the palace-
The Queen Dowager stood before the High Court in full ceremonial regalia, her eyes storm-dark.
"She has broken the natural law," she declared. "And now the heavens shake."
Some lords whispered in fear. Others bowed their heads. But a few-those who had always longed for power-nodded with approval.
"She must be removed," one said.
"Exiled, if not executed."
"Before the gods choose to make an example of us all."
It was then that Minister Aenrik, the youngest among them, stepped forward.
"There's no need for execution," he said calmly. "We simply let the Order finish what they began."
"And if the Order fails?"
He smiled.
"They won't."
In the night, the Sacred Tree of Vael-once planted by the first Seers-turned black at the roots.
The city watched in terror as its blossoms shriveled and dropped, one by one, like falling stars.
The priests fell silent.
The bells didn't ring.
It was the first divine warning.
Elara stood before the mirror again.
Now fully cracked. Fading. Dying.
This time, her reflection looked like her. No past lives. No buried names.
Just her.
The girl who chose to burn the vow.
The woman who refused to run.
The soul who remembered.
Kaelith stood behind her.
"We don't have long," he said. "The Order will strike soon."
Elara nodded. "Then let's strike first."
They summoned the mages. The loyal ones.
The hidden ones.
The ones whose ancestors remembered the old pacts before the gods turned distant.
"We need an Unbinding," Elara said. "A rite to sever divine grip without triggering full wrath."
One mage, a silver-haired woman named Maerin, stepped forward. "We can try… but it requires blood. Royal blood."
Kaelith didn't hesitate. "Take what you need."
"No," Elara said. "Take mine."
But Maerin only shook her head. "You're already marked. The gods will follow your blood straight to the core. But his…" she glanced at Kaelith, "…his blood still holds protection."
They didn't argue again.
Kaelith rolled up his sleeve.
Maerin drew a blade made of obsidian and starlight.
The rite began at midnight.
The palace trembled.
The stars dimmed.
The moment Kaelith's blood hit the enchanted circle, the sky screamed.
All across Virelles, people woke from sleep choking on wind that wasn't there.
Birds flew backward.
Water in the fountains rose.
And above the palace-
A tear opened in the air.
From it descended a figure cloaked in flame and shadow.
A god.
Or something older.
Eyes burning with celestial rage. Voice echoing in ancient language.
"You were given lifetimes."
"You were given love."
"And yet you defied the contract."
Kaelith stepped forward.
"Elara is not a contract," he said. "She's a soul. And I choose her. Not fate."
The god raised a hand.
Fire spiraled.
But Elara stepped in front of Kaelith-glowing now with all the light she had hidden for centuries.
"You took my memory. My name. My love."
She raised her own hand.
"And I still returned."
The god paused.
The fire hissed.
And for a heartbeat… the stars blinked.