The night sky over the Valley of Smoke burned red.
Sarive crouched low against the jagged ridge of obsidian, his body tense, his panther-emblazoned armor gleaming with soot and starlight. Wind howled through the broken terrain, carrying the sulfuric scent of scorched stone and the bitter ozone sting of divine warfare. Behind him, the rest of his team fanned out—Diana, Cassian, Nira, Kelon, Rynn, and Mira. Each was born of legacy, children of legends, yet none of them had ever faced what lay ahead.
Diana moved beside him, her voice steady. "That glow in the sky. It's divine fire. We're near the landing site."
"The Dominion sent one of their retrieval units," Cassian said grimly, tapping a scanner embedded in his gauntlet. "Three signatures. And one of them... it's her. The Seeker."
Sarive's jaw clenched.
The Seeker. A legend cloaked in living flame, a herald of destruction bound to the Dominion's will. But the Dominion rarely dispatched her unless the target held unimaginable value. And tonight, the target was Hope.
Down in the clearing, a ring of scorched earth surrounded the shattered remains of a woodland temple. The ground still smoked from the impact. Mia stood at the center, blades drawn, a barrier of light shielding her and the girl behind her. Hope, only five years old, had her glowing eyes locked onto the sky—where three streaks of fire descended like judgment.
The first hunter landed in a quake of bone and lightning—a six-armed warrior god clad in armor carved from the bones of dead Titans.
The second followed in silence, a shadow made of whispers, drifting just above the ground, her form barely visible.
The third—was Zeviir.
A woman engulfed in flame, her skin bronze, her eyes molten. She wore no crown, but the heat around her bent reality. Zeviir, the Flarebinder. One of the Pantheon's greatest weapons.
Sarive's breath caught. "She's here."
Hope screamed.
In that moment, time snapped like a string. Sarive leapt from the ridge, crashing into the battlefield like thunder. His team followed in perfect sequence, a storm of energy, steel, and fury.
Cassian blocked the bone-armored god with a shield wall of compressed force.
Nira and Rynn rushed to Mia's side, driving their spears into the ground and forming a kinetic dome to reinforce the barrier.
Sarive ran straight toward Zeviir.
She saw him coming and smiled.
"You're late, Ascendant."
They clashed.
Zeviir's fist met his jaw in a burst of white-hot flame, and Sarive retaliated with a rising knee that cracked the air. He was fast—but she was faster. Their battle ripped the ground open, their movements a blur to everyone but the gods themselves.
High above, a beacon ignited across the veil.
The Pantheon Council watched.
Azerion turned to the God of Fear.
"The Ascendants fight for her. They'll never stop."
"Then neither will we," came the reply.
Back on the ground, Hope ran from the battle—toward the broken statue of a once-forgotten god. Her hands trembled. Her eyes shined like two stars.
She whispered, "Please... stop."
Reality bent around her. The flames of Zeviir extinguished. The lightning froze mid-air. Even Sarive felt the pressure like a thousand voices screaming at once.
Mia reached her first, scooping the child into her arms. "Don't let them see you like that," she whispered. "Not yet."
Zeviir stood frozen across the battlefield, staring—not at Hope, but at Mia.
Her voice cracked.
"Give her to me. The gods demand it."
Mia shook her head. "No. She's not yours."
Zeviir's flames reignited. But before she could strike, Diana stepped forward, golden lasso crackling at her hip.
"You'll have to go through all of us."
Zeviir's gaze swept the team. For the first time, uncertainty flickered in her burning eyes.
She vanished.
One by one, the other two hunters retreated into the veil, fading into ash and silence.
Mia collapsed to her knees, clutching Hope.
Sarive knelt beside them. "She's powerful. Too powerful."
Mia nodded. "That's why we need you. All of you. The Pantheon won't stop. But neither will we."
Hope, exhausted, rested her head on Mia's shoulder.
Above them, the stars shivered.
The war had begun.