Chapter 22: The Defiling of the Heavens
The Holy City of Valerius, known for its "Eternal White Walls," was no longer white. Under the oppressive glow of the violet moon, the marble seemed to bleed shadows. The air was filled with the rhythmic thumping of the Cathedral of Despair, Cyan's mobile fortress, as it anchored itself just outside the city's reach. From its spires, long ribbons of dark mana stretched out like the legs of a cosmic spider, weaving a web around the last sanctuary of Light.
"They are chanting," Lilith whispered, standing beside Cyan on the high balcony of the fortress. "I can hear the resonance of a thousand priests. They are burning their own life force to open the 'Celestial Gate.' They are desperate, Master."
Cyan watched the city through the [Gaze of the Usurper]. He could see the golden threads of energy converging toward the Great Cathedral at the city's heart. "Desperation is the finest seasoning for a soul, Lilith. Let them open the gate. I want to see what 'Heaven' considers a warrior."
Inside the city, the scene was one of divine madness. Pope Clement IX stood at the center of a massive pentagram of white fire. Hundreds of priests lay exhausted or dead around him, their spirits drained to fuel the ritual.
"O Ancient Guardian of the Seventh Realm!" the Pope roared, his skin cracking under the pressure of the holy light. "Descend and purge the filth that stains our world! In our darkest hour, we offer our lives for your blade!"
The sky above the Cathedral shattered. A crack of pure, blinding gold tore through the violet clouds. From the rift, a figure descended. It was a Greater Angel, standing ten feet tall, clad in armor of living light, with six wings that shed feathers of fire. Its face was a mask of cold, emotionless perfection.
"WHO CALLS UPON THE DIVINE?" the Angel's voice was a physical shockwave, shattering the windows of every building for miles.
"I do!" the Pope cried, pointing toward the dark fortress outside the walls. "The Anti-God is at our gates! Save us!"
The Angel turned its gaze toward Cyan. In an instant, it vanished and reappeared in the air above the Cathedral of Despair.
"ABOMINATION," it spoke, raising a sword of solar flame. "YOUR EXISTENCE IS A STAIN UPON THE COSMOS. I SHALL ERASE YOU FROM THE RECORDS OF TIME."
Cyan didn't move. He didn't even raise a weapon. He simply smiled—a jagged, terrifying expression. "Erase me? You are nothing but a high-level construct fueled by the prayers of dying men. You are not a god. You are a slave with wings."
The Angel struck. The solar blade descended with the force of a falling star.
[System Ultimate Skill Activated: Void Reflection - The Sin of Hubris.]
The blow didn't land. A shield of swirling purple darkness erupted around Cyan. When the solar blade hit the shield, the light didn't shatter the dark; the dark began to absorb the light. The Angel's golden mana was being pulled into the shield, turning into a murky, bruised indigo.
"WHAT IS THIS?" the Angel's voice wavered, a hint of confusion—the first sign of humanity—seeping into its tone.
"This is the reality of the System," Cyan said, stepping into the air to meet the Angel face-to-face. "Everything in this world is data. Your light, your divinity, your 'holy' essence... it's all just fuel. And I am the ultimate furnace."
Cyan reached out and grabbed the Angel's throat with his bare hand. The living light of the Angel's neck hissed and burned Cyan's palm, but he didn't let go. Instead, he forced his purple mana directly into the Angel's core.
[System Notification: Initiating 'Celestial Corruption'.]
[Progress: 10%... 25%... 40%...]
"STOP! BLASPHEMER!" the Angel screamed, its six wings flapping frantically as it tried to break free. But the violet corruption was moving like a virus, turning the golden armor into blackened steel. The feathers of fire began to rot and fall, turning into ash before they hit the ground.
"You feel that?" Cyan whispered, his eyes glowing with an unholy intensity. "The 'Divine' is so fragile. One touch of real Sin, and it falls apart. You're not an angel anymore. You're my new Fallen Seraph."
With a final, agonizing shriek, the Angel's golden aura turned into a torrent of dark, obsidian energy. Its six wings became leathery and tattered, like those of a massive bat. Its mask of perfection shattered, revealing a face of tortured, beautiful darkness.
[System Notification: High-Level Subordinate Acquired: 'The Fallen Seraph - Azrael'.]
[Corruption Progress: 50% - The Heavens are now trembling.]
The people of Valerius watched in absolute silence as their "Guardian" knelt in the air before the King of Sin. The Pope fell to his knees, his scepter clattering to the floor. The last hope of the Light had been turned into a weapon of the Dark.
"Azrael," Cyan commanded, his voice echoing over the city. "The walls of this city are an insult to my presence. Level them."
The Fallen Seraph rose, its dark wings casting a shadow that covered the entire city. It raised its sword—now a blade of Abyssal Fire—and swung it in a single, horizontal arc.
A wave of black fire erupted from the blade, hitting the "Eternal White Walls" with the force of a thousand siege engines. The marble exploded into dust. The holy enchantments that had protected the city for a millennium vanished like mist in the sun.
"The city is open, my King," Azrael said, his voice a deep, resonant rumble of submission.
Cyan turned to his army. Duke Silvermane, Isabella, and the legions of Sin-Wraiths were already waiting at the edge of the ruins.
"No mercy," Cyan ordered. "I want the Pope brought to me alive. The rest... are data for the System. Begin the occupation."
As the Sinful Army flooded into the city, Cyan walked calmly toward the Great Cathedral. He wasn't looking at the fleeing priests or the burning buildings. He was looking at the ground beneath the altar. The Sepulcher of the First Saint was waiting, and he could feel a resonance coming from it—a secret that even the Pope didn't fully understand.
The night was far from over. The fall of the city was just the prelude to the birth of something far more terrifying.