THE GODSLAYER'S RETURN

Nine: A God's Hand

Varis’s grip was like iron, cutting off Kael’s breath. The Ascendant’s glowing eyes gleamed with amusement as Kael’s feet dangled inches above the cavern floor.

“Pathetic,” Varis murmured. “The Godslayer I heard about would’ve killed me before I blinked, now you’re just… a rat in a ruined tunnel.”

Kael’s vision blurred at the edges. The bracers pulsed against his arms, crimson light flickering weakly. His strength was nearly spent from binding the Hellbeast. But surrender wasn’t in his nature.

Aelira’s voice cut through the haze. “Let him go!”

Silver light flared from her hands, shooting toward Varis in a spear of divine energy. Varis didn’t even glance at her. With a flick of his wrist, her attack shattered, the cavern walls cracking from the shockwave.

“You shouldn’t meddle, half-blood,” he said calmly. “This doesn’t concern you.”

Aelira gritted her teeth, summoning another spell. Kael’s heart pounded, every instinct screaming that neither of them could face Varis head-on, not like this.

He forced himself to focus, gathering what little strength he had left. The bracers burned, their crimson glow intensifying.

Varis’s gaze flicked back to Kael. “Ah. There it is. That fire. I’ve heard stories of that look. The look of a man who’d rather burn himself alive than bow.”

Kael smirked faintly, blood trailing from the corner of his mouth. “You talk too much.”

Before Varis could respond, Kael slammed his palm against the Ascendant’s arm, pouring all his energy into the bracers. Crimson chains burst out, wrapping around Varis’s forearm like living serpents.

Varis’s expression flickered with mild surprise.

Kael twisted his body, using the chains for leverage, and slammed his knee into Varis’s chest. The blow barely made the Ascendant flinch, but it bought Kael a split-second window.

He spun, dagger flashing, aiming for Varis’s throat.

Varis caught the blade with two fingers.

“Interesting,” Varis murmured, inspecting the dagger as if Kael weren’t even there. “Scarlet Sect steel, fused with something older, but you’re still a century too slow.”

Kael snarled, wrenching himself free, but Varis moved faster than thought. He struck Kael in the chest with a single glowing palm.

The force sent Kael flying across the cavern, slamming him into a pillar with bone-cracking impact. Pain exploded through his ribs, his breath knocked out of him.

“Kael!” Aelira’s scream echoed.

Varis turned toward her, his expression calm, almost bored. “You shouldn’t be here.”

Aelira’s amber eyes blazed with fury. Her hands moved in rapid, precise patterns, silver runes swirling in the air. Power gathered in the cavern, the temperature dropping sharply.

Varis finally raised an eyebrow. “A divine incantation… impressive. Who taught you that, little half-blood?”

“Your gods,” Aelira spat.

The runes ignited, and a storm of silver spears rained down on Varis. The cavern trembled under the assault, dust and stone raining from above.

When the light cleared, Varis stood untouched, his golden robes pristine.

He raised his hand, and with a lazy wave, Aelira was hurled backward, slamming into a wall hard enough to c***k the stone.

Kael staggered to his feet, rage boiling in his veins.

“Enough,” Varis said softly, his voice carrying absolute authority. “You’re finished.”

He stepped forward, the air around him shimmering with divine energy. Every instinct in Kael screamed that this was death approaching.

But Kael had been here before. He’d stood against gods before. He refused to kneel.

He activated the bracers fully. Crimson light erupted around him, flooding the cavern with a violent glow. His body screamed in protest, veins burning as if molten iron flowed through them.

Varis stopped, studying him with faint curiosity. “You’d burn yourself alive for pride?”

“For freedom,” Kael snarled.

The chains shot out again, faster this time, wrapping around Varis’s arms and torso. The Ascendant chuckled softly.

“Cute.”

With a surge of golden power, Varis shattered the chains like brittle glass.

Kael was already moving. He dashed forward, blade aimed for Varis’s heart. Varis sidestepped effortlessly, his palm slamming into Kael’s shoulder.

The impact sent him spinning through the air, crashing into the ground.

“You were always arrogant,” Varis said, his voice calm. “That arrogance will kill you again.”

Kael coughed blood, forcing himself onto his knees. He could feel his body breaking down under the strain of the bracers’ power. He was running on rage and sheer will now.

Varis appeared in front of him again, moving so fast Kael barely saw him. A golden blade of energy formed in Varis’s hand, humming with lethal intent.

“Goodbye, Godslayer.”

The blade descended.

And stopped an inch from Kael’s throat.

Varis froze, his glowing eyes narrowing. Slowly, he turned his head, looking toward the tunnel’s entrance.

A voice, smooth and mocking, echoed through the cavern. “Now, now… killing him so soon? Where’s the fun in that?”

From the shadows stepped another figure—a tall man draped in black robes lined with crimson. His face was hidden behind a silver mask, and in his hand, he carried a long spear etched with glowing runes.

Varis’s expression shifted slightly. “You.”

The masked man tilted his head. “Miss me?”

Kael’s instincts screamed danger, but this new presence didn’t radiate divine power like Varis. His energy was… older. Wilder.

Varis tightened his grip on the golden blade. “Why are you here?”

The masked man chuckled softly. “To collect my investment.”

Kael’s vision blurred as exhaustion finally dragged him down, but he caught the faintest glimpse of the man’s glowing red eyes beneath the mask.

The stranger raised his spear and leveled it at Varis. “Step away from him, He’s mine.”

The cavern trembled again, this time from raw, unrestrained killing intent.

Varis’s smile vanished.