The Eclipsed Bloom

Shiva raised his hand, his voice calm and measured."I have an idea to stop them—for now."

The room fell silent. The gods, who had been locked in heated debate, froze mid-sentence.

Zara arched a brow, surprised by their sudden quiet. She leaned toward Lilith and whispered,"Lilith, what are they talking about? I thought the Demon Lords were killed by the Saints. Why are they saying the gods fell in that war?"

Lilith lowered her gaze before answering softly,"From what my mother told me, the Saints—those blessed by Hera—only succeeded because the Demon Lords were already weakened by their war with the gods. Their demonic energy was nearly drained. Hera took advantage of that moment and empowered the Saints to finish them off."

Zara’s eyes widened."They were already weak? But... legends say they nearly wiped out humanity."

Lilith gave a faint, almost sorrowful smile."Even weakened, they were beyond what any human—blessed or not—could handle. The Saints didn’t win with strength. They won with timing."

Zara fell silent, eyes drifting back to Shiva as he resumed speaking.

"There’s only one way to stop them now. We considered handling it ourselves, but the consciousness of Elarion won’t allow too many powerful beings to enter the realm at once."

Odin raised an eyebrow."So, what’s the plan?"

Shiva placed a thoughtful hand on his chin."We temporarily seal off Elarion. It’ll only last a few years, but that time might be enough to find another solution."

Varek scoffed, arms crossed."Cowards. Let me go—I’ll handle them myself."