Chapter 84: The Unborn Threat
ELYSIUM
"Mirevale’s name vanished from the Deity Registry a few hours ago," Elios announced, his voice resounding through the vast, marble sanctuary.
He stood at the center of the emergency council meeting room, a grand circular chamber he had summoned the moment Mirevale’s star chart abruptly went dark.
The deities gathered around the table exchanged stunned glances.
A heavy, suffocating silence fell over the room as disbelief etched itself onto every divine face.
How could the Goddess of Life and Death—an immortal force—be completely erased from the celestial records?
Those were some of the many thoughts in their minds.
"How is that even possible?" Solmira was the first to break the stillness, her hand pressing against her glowing chest. "I saw nothing in my visions! If her death were approaching, my foresight would have warned us. How did this slip past the threads of fate?"
At the head of the high table sat Celestian. He said nothing. His expression remained a cold, unreadable mask, but behind his blank stare, a storm of calculations surged through his supreme mind.
Had they truly underestimated their enemies?
"Mirevale hasn’t lost a battle in centuries!" Nythera spat, her fingers digging violently into the armrests of her throne. "How does a deity simply get erased? If a ruling goddess can be wiped out like a smudge on a slate, then what stops them from coming for the rest of us?"
"She wasn’t merely erased, Nythera," Elios said, letting out a weary, ragged breath. He closed his eyes briefly, fighting to keep his composure. "Her wings... the sacred mark that should have manifested in the Hall of Remembrance... never appeared. They weren’t just broken, I think they were violently severed before her soul was destroyed."
A collective gasp rippled through the chamber.
"That is barbaric!" Nythera hissed, her divine aura flaring with righteous anger. "The Sins are absolute monsters! This is precisely why we should have executed them centuries ago instead of merely casting them out!"
"It wasn’t the Sins who struck the final blow," Elios interjected quietly.
He raised his hand into the open air, tracing glowing, celestial runes against the dim light of the chamber.
"Before Mirevale’s essence completely dissolved, the lingering threads of our soul-bond allowed me to glimpse her final moments. Look."
He flicked his wrist, projecting a massive, swirling orb of golden energy into the center of the room. The projection materialized, displaying Mirevale’s final horrifying seconds—the blinding, sacred golden light erupting from Seraphel’s body and incinerating her divine frame.
"A Celestial Golden Light?!" Celestian gasped, his composure finally cracking as he leaned forward, his eyes fixed on the projection. "How... how could a mere mortal wield a force of that magnitude?"
Elios shook his head grimly. "It was not the mortal."
Another wave of frantic murmurs swept through the council.
"The unborn child..." Solmira gasped, standing up so fast her chair scraped loudly against the marble floor. "The child is slaying deities from inside the womb! It isn’t even born yet, and it’s already tearing us down! The child will be our absolute doom!"
Celestian remained frozen, the panic of the council echoing around him like distant thunder.
Ever since he had seized the throne from his brother to become the Supreme Deity, he had ruled Elysium with an iron fist, maintaining absolute control over the realms.
Now, his legacy—his entire reign—was threatened by an unborn half-breed.
I will tear the realms apart before I let a child dethrone me. He declared in his mind.
"I say we launch an immediate crusade against Katula!" Valedi boomed, slamming his fist onto the table. "We march on Elysium armys realm, slaughter the Prince of Lust, and seize the vessel! I will gladly lead the vanguard. Mirevale’s death will not go unavenged!"
Solmira scoffed, shooting Valedi a look of utter disdain. "Do you truly believe the Prince of Lust is our only threat? The Seven Deadly Sins have reassembled! For the first time in centuries, they stand together in the mortal realm. An army of lower deities marching mindlessly into their domain will only result in a slaughter!"
"And what do you propose, Solmira? That we sit back, sip ambrosia, and politely wait for them to erase us one by one?" Valedi retorted sharply. "Mirevale was slaughtered like cattle! Her wings were hacked off, her soul denied reincarnation! War is our only option for survival!"
"War right now is suicide!" Elodi interjected, raising his hand to cast a calming light over the heated table. "Solmira is right. Rushing in blindly without a strategy will end in catastrophe. We need to secure the vessel without dragging all of Elysium into a war we might lose."
Nythera turned a harsh glare toward Elodi, her lips curling into a sneer. "Your fellow deity and lover was just erased, Elodi, and you advocate for cowardice? The Seven Sins may be formidable, but they are not invincible. If we overwhelm them with total force, they will fall! We cannot allow that human to draw another breath!"
"And that is precisely why you shouldn’t be making strategic decisions!" Solmira snapped back, her voice rising as she adjusted her robes. "The Sins have ruled their respective domains for centuries. They are master tacticians! If we charge in like stupid beasts, we will walk straight into their trap!"
"You speak of strategy, yet you sound like a sniveling coward!" Nythera spat, tapping her long, manicured nails against the stone. "Perhaps you’re hesitant because your own bloodline is tainted! You should have been erased instead of Mirevale—at least she didn’t spawn two traitorous sons!"
Solmira’s eyes flared with blinding fury. She slammed both palms onto the table, sending a shockwave that cracked the ancient marble straight down the center.
A shimmering, razor-sharp aura of light burst from her frame.
"Do not speak of my sons, Nythera!" Solmira roared, pointing a trembling, glowing finger at her throat. "I sacrificed everything to—"
"And your sacrifices failed!" Nythera yelled back, standing up to meet her glare. "And now Mirevale is gone!"
Before the argument could escalate into a duel, blinding torrents of divine pressure violently erupted from Celestian.
The force of his power crashed over their heads like an avalanche, pinning every deity back into their seats and rattling the foundation of the sanctuary.
"ENOUGH!"
Celestian’s voice thundered through the hall, vibrating in their chests.
The chamber fell dead silent. Celestian slowly lowered his hands, resting his chin atop his laced fingers, his glowing eyes scanning the room.
"Infighting will yield nothing while our true enemy gathers strength," Celestian said, his tone icy and controlled. "Waging a direct war, as Solmira noted, is foolish. We will not waste the elite armies of Elysium as cannon fodder against the Sins."
Valedi frowned. "Then who marches?"
"The prisoners," Celestian replied smoothly. "The demon hoard we locked away in the abyssal vaults after the Great War."
Valedi’s face twisted in sheer disgust. "The demons? Have you lost your mind? They despise us! We slaughtered their king, bound their realm, and kept them in chains for centuries! They will never fight for Elysium! Besides, have you forgotten that the Prince of Lust carries royal demon blood? They will bow to him, not us!"