A huge orange portal opened in the throne room of the grand cerulean castle of Altero. Its swirling glow rippled against the high sapphire pillars and stained-glass windows, casting the chamber in fiery hues as the Septet emerged one by one. Behind them, the Staff of Oblivion floated ominously, its fractured crystal orb pulsing like a silent heart, drifting close beside Remiel as though tethered to his very soul.
This time, Altero was not alone. Seated within the throne room alongside him were the parents of the Seraphborns — the elder deities themselves. Lunae, goddess of sorcery, cloaked in shimmering arcane radiance; Pyrrhos, god of fire, wreathed in searing embers; and Astron, god of lightning, his form sparking with celestial thunder. Their divine eyes bore down upon the Septet, who
