The skies above the new world shimmered with twin suns—one golden, one silver—casting warmth over the lands Kael had shaped with his own divine will. The earth beneath his feet pulsed softly with life, eager and untouched by corruption.
Kael stood atop a mountain overlooking the vast crystal forests that sparkled under the light. He felt the breath of the world—its rhythm, its harmony—thrumming in his mortal chest, even as his other half, the Celestial Core, remained far above in the eternal heavens, guarding the balance of creation.
For the first time in centuries—perhaps ever he was both god and man.
His mortal form smiled.
Behind him, familiar footsteps crunched on the glassy stone.
"You left the throne of eternity to walk among us," Lyra teased, wrapping her arms around his waist. Her voice was gentle, but her eyes held that fierce light he loved. "You could have ruled everything… and you chose this?"
Kael chuckled softly, turning to meet her gaze.
"I ruled for too long," he said. "Now I want to live."
Far below, the first cities of the new world bloomed. The Celestial Legion, their powers sealed away for peace, mingled with the reborn races—humans, elves, dwarves, and creatures long thought extinct. The Abyss had stolen centuries from existence… and now Kael gave it all back.
But not all was perfect.
A faint shimmer in the sky caught his eye—a ripple at the edge of creation. His divine half stirred, warning him.
"What is it?" Lyra asked, sensing the shift in him.
Kael's smile faded just slightly. "A reminder... that not all darkness dies. Even now, cracks form where the old void tries to creep in."
She gripped his hand. "And if it does?"
Kael squeezed her fingers, feeling the mortal warmth he had nearly forgotten.
"Then the world has me. And I'll face it as a man who remembers what it means to protect everything he loves."
A boom echoed across the skies—a summoning bell struck from the distant city of Solari.
Valen's laughter echoed up the mountain.
"God or not, Kael—they're already calling you to fix disputes over land and water rights. You're going to be more popular than the king himself!"
Kael shook his head, grinning.
"Let's go. A god among men… has duties to perform."
With Lyra beside him and the dawn of a new era rising behind them, Kael descended the mountain—not as the conqueror of the Abyss or the Celestial Core…
…but as a man forging a life worth living in the world he gave birth to.
The age of gods had ended.
The age of hope had begun.