Kairo had felt pain before.He had felt fear before.
But nothing—nothing—prepared him for what it felt like to wake inside the body of a weapon designed to kill gods.
It didn't feel like power.
It felt like drowning.
The Black Pulse
They carried him through the shattered halls of the Ashen Temple.
Eli at the front—jaw clenched, anger simmering beneath every step.
Astra followed behind—silent, controlled… except the faint golden glow around her flickered like a candle in a storm.
Kairo's vision blurred. Not from exhaustion.
From overflow.
Every time his foot brushed stone, the floor darkened—thin black veins spreading outward like living ink.
Astra kept glancing at the spreading corruption.
Kairo noticed.
"…Something wrong?" he rasped.
She froze instantly.
Eli nearly walked into her.
Astra turned her head just enough for him to see her eyes—golden irises trembling.
"No," she said.
But beneath that—
Yes. Everything.
Her mind was screaming:
Kairo shouldn't be alive.Kairo shouldn't be stable.Kairo shouldn't be… growing.
The God-Seal Room
They reached a vast circular chamber—cracked stone pillars, ancient celestial symbols carved into the walls.
A place meant to restrain gods.
Never mortals.
Eli lowered Kairo onto the center platform with trembling hands.
"Kai… just rest for a second—"
The moment Kairo's back touched the stone—
The entire room reacted.
Symbols ignited across the floor.The air vibrated.A deep, resonant hum shook the chamber.
Astra cursed under her breath.
Kairo clutched his chest.
A heartbeat—deep, monstrous, slow.
THUMP.The stone cracked beneath him.
THUMP.Dust rained from the ceiling.
Eli jumped back, horrified."K-Kai… what is this?!"
Kairo drew in a ragged breath.
"I… I don't know."
But something in his spine whispered the truth:
Something ancient was waking.Something hateful.Something that had only been sleeping.
Astra's Fear
Astra raised one hand.
Golden sigils spiraled outward, sealing the chamber in a glowing barrier.
Eli panicked.
"A-Astra?! What are you doing?!"
Her voice was cold. Controlled.
"Eli. Stay back. Don't touch him."
Eli stared at her like she had stabbed him.
"That's Kairo! Not a monster!"
Astra didn't look away from him.
She looked at Kairo like she was watching a bomb count down.
'Why is a mortal generating god-pressure?''Why is he syncing with the Primordial Seal?''How long until he collapses… or explodes?'
Her thoughts raced faster than her heartbeat.
The Awakening — Partially Unleashed
Kairo sat up suddenly, breathing in sharp, staccato gasps.
The veins beneath him spread faster—rippling outward like claws scraping through the stone.
Astra's pupils shrank.
"Kairo—STOP! Don't move!"
But he already had.
And the seal responded.
The golden carvings on the floor turned black.
Eli stumbled, nearly falling."Kai… the marks— they're matching your corruption."
The air thickened—heavy, suffocating.
Eli fell to his knees.
Astra gritted her teeth, barely standing under the crushing pressure.
Kairo wasn't doing anything.
Just existing.
But the world reacted like a catastrophe was unfolding.
Astra's voice cracked.
"Kairo… are you even human anymore?"
Kairo didn't answer.
He didn't know.
The Surface Breaks
A memory punched its way into his mind—
A boy crying in a burning field.A mother reaching for him.A father screaming his name.A hand—someone's hand—pulling him away.
Then darkness.Everything exploding into a void.
He gasped—choking on air.
His heartbeat thundered.
CRACK.
A thin line tore open in the air above him.
Reality fractured.
A rift.
Small.Hairline.But real.
Astra staggered backward, eyes wide with horror.
"That's… impossible."
Eli whispered, trembling:
"Kai… you just tore space…"
Kairo clenched his fists until they bled.
"I can't control it."
"No," Astra whispered.
"It's not you tearing reality."
She stepped closer, fear shaking her voice.
"It's something inside you trying to escape."
The Voice in the Rift
A whisper seeped out of the crack.
Not sound.
Pressure.Consciousness.Will.
Cold. Endless. Hungry.
It slid into his skull like a blade of ice.
Kairo Vale… vessel…Kairo Vale… release…Kairo Vale—OPEN THE GATES.
Kairo's mind snapped.
His scream wasn't human.
It wasn't mortal.
It shook the entire Temple.
The Moment the Gods Trembled
Above the capital, the sky twisted.
Clouds peeled away.A dark ring formed—swirling, devouring light.
A celestial alarm erupted across the kingdom.
Every divine sentinel, every guardian, every living watcher—
froze.
Turned toward the Temple.
And felt something they had forgotten centuries ago:
Fear.
A God-Sentinel whispered:
"That pressure……a Primordial?"
Another murmured:
"No. Worse."
Kairo's Last Words (Before Collapse)
Astra rushed to him as the rift widened.
"Kairo! Look at me! Stay conscious!"
His head tilted back.
His eyes—normally blue—were almost pure black.
He choked out three words:
"Don't… let it out."
Then his body went limp.
Kairo Vale collapsed into Astra's arms—
cold, unmoving, barely breathing.
Eli screamed his name.
And across the kingdom, every divine being braced themselves—
Because the thing sleeping inside Kairo Vale…
had just opened its eye.